Blood of the Ancients
by NegativeZero1
Summary: Evangelion / Fantasy fusion. The seals weaken, and the Shito are once again loosed upon the world. Only one thing can stop them from remaking the planet in their own terrible image - those who wield the power of the Evangelion. **Updated: Part 2 added**
1. Part 1: The Cowled One / Resonance

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**Blood of the Ancients**  
An Evangelion Fanfic

Evangelion is copyright Gainax / Project Eva. This is a work of fan fiction, Non Profit, and so on.  


This is an elseworlds fanfic. Basically, it's an Evangelion / Fantasy mix... some events will be the same as the series, some will change, and so on.

Conceived and written by:  
**NegativeZero** (Simon Christensen)  
_dchris1@bigpond.net.au_

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**Part 1:**  _Resonance / The Cowled One_  
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Shinji could never really remember his father. To Shinji, father was an enigma, a person who, for all intents and purposes, might as well have never existed, yet he must have, else Shinji would never have been alive to reflect upon his father's absences. That was fine by Shinji's standards... if he had never bothered to show himself to Shinji, then he must either be a real asshole or be dead. Either way, Shinji didn't expect he'd ever meet him again. 

Of his mother, Shinji also remembered little. The odd word, phrase, emotion or sensation was all he could really recall of her. She'd been gone a long, long time. Shinji assumed that she was dead, though none of the people who had taken care of him had seemed to know... or maybe they just didn't want to tell him. Of course, they wouldn't even tell him if he had a name beyond 'Shinji' or 'Hey you'.

It was two days until the Festival of Lights. Having just turned fourteen, Shinji was now considered 'adult' enough to participate in the village dance. That was, of course, assuming that the mothers of the female participants didn't attempt to gut him for being within five meters of their daughters. For some strange reason, the bulk of the village detested the small, shy boy, or so Shinji believed.

And so, being so forcibly removed from the normal interaction with those of similar age to himself, Shinji had developed a reputation of being withdrawn and reclusive, which of course led to further ostracization, leading in turn to Shinji turning even more inward, and so on. It was a vicious cycle, but Shinji made do.

Naturally, his reclusive nature had made him the target of two things - teasing and bullying. The bullying mainly came from the other male teens in the village, almost all of which enjoyed starting fights with Shinji, knowing that the elder members of the community would invariably punish Shinji for having initiated the fight, despite this not really being the case.

The teasing, on the other hand, was a recent occurrence. Evidently many of the village's girls found Shinji's flat-footed performances when talked to wildly amusing. The girls could tease Shinji to whatever point they wished, safe in the knowledge that if he DID try something, he would be well and truly punished.

Of course, most of the village pitied Shinji. Those who made life miserable for him were really only a small bunch - several of the others had tried friendly overtures before, but Shinji never really showed any sign of caring either way. To Shinji's mind, the entire village hated his stinking guts, so these 'friends' were obviously teasing him.

Shinji's life was far from pleasant. Thankfully, the upcoming festivities had deflected attention from him, allowing Shinji to simply sit towards the edge of the road into the village and rest. This way, he could see the comings and goings of the village without being constantly abused or ordered to perform some menial task.

Lying back in the grass, Shinji looked up at the clear blue sky. A single while cloud was visible above. Shinji's idle mind began to attempt to make a shape out of the mass of vapour. That was when the distant sound of a horse's footfalls met Shinji's ears.

Sitting up, Shinji attempted to pinpoint the location of the approaching horse. Instead, his eyes fell upon a figure. It was nearly two hundred paces away, but Shinji could easily make out that the figure was female. His eyes locked with hers for a second, and a quiet voice cried out in pain in his mind, "Shinji... help me!" The sudden surprise of a voice speaking in his head was enough to make Shinji jump, tearing his eyes away from the spectral form. 

Shinji turned his head back to look at the strange figure, only to find that she had disappeared. His mind began to wonder if she had indeed been real, or if she had been a heat-induced hallucination. He continued to stare at the spot where she had been standing for quite a while, not realising that the horse and its rider had caught up to him.

"Excuse me," asked a female voice, cutting through Shinji's daydream. "Is this Matsushiro?"

Shinji turned to look at the source of the voice. His eyes started with the horse, a large black stallion, upon which had been placed a blue bridle and saddle. Upon the saddle sat a woman. She wore soft black leather boots, which covered her legs to mid thigh. Above this, she wore a black silk dress and a red travelling cloak, which fanned out behind her. The hood of the cloak was up, concealing much of the woman's face. 

Shinji then noticed the sword. It was belted at her waist, a black leather scabbard inlaid with a shiny red metal. The pommel was set with a large, purple stone.

At that moment, Shinji's brain registered that he had been asked a question. "Uhm... yes... ma'am. This is Matsushiro," he replied to her question.

The woman let out a small sigh of relief. "I thought I'd never get here... my butt is killing me!" she exclaimed. "So, kid... where's the inn in this village?" asked the woman.

"It's over this way," Shinji said. "I'll show you."

He led her into the centre of the village, passing several groups of people, all of whom stopped to stare at the traveller - visitors to the village were few and far between. Not only was the village remote, it was in an area surrounded by difficult terrain - to one side was the White Mountains, the highest peak of which, perpetually snow-capped Mt Matsushiro, could be seen from the village. To another side was the blue depth of the Sea of Danura. To the north, the river Torrent entered the sea, and to the south was an expanse of dry, arid desert, where only the hardiest could survive. 

Shinji led the woman to the front of the largest building in the village. It was a two-story affair, composed of a red brick that stood out for miles, as the rest of the houses in the village were composed of rough grey stone.

As they approached the Inn, Shinji felt a familiar gaze fall upon him. The innkeeper, a fat, ugly old man by the name of Barturs, was standing outside, alternating between staring at the approaching traveller with greed showing in his eyes, and glaring at Shinji, the boy he had the misfortune of 'looking after'. Barturs hated Shinji, and Shinji didn't like Barturs much, either.

As the woman stepped down, the greasy man approached, grinning and rubbing his hands together, a single gold tooth showing in his mouth. "Good day, Traveller," he began.

The woman's head inclined just slightly in greeting. "I wish to hire a room for... oh, let's say three nights. I'll also need food, both for me and my horse," she said, her voice making it obvious to Shinji that this was someone used to giving orders and having them carried out.

"Of course, of course!" Barturs cried. "And might I say that I'm truly grateful. We get so few visitors here, let alone a visiting Templar." It was obvious that Barturs had recognised the woman's garb. The Innkeeper's gaze fell upon Shinji. "Unfortunate that you also happened across the dregs of our community, too. I trust he didn't steal anything?"

"The boy?" she asked, surprised. "Why no, not at all..."

Barturs continued to glare at Shinji. "Hey you, take her horse and put it in the stables. NOW!" he roared.

"I need to talk to whoever is in charge in this Village," the woman said. 

"Of course, of course! I'll call the council to meet in the Inn. Let me show you your room!" the Innkeeper responded.

At that point, the woman's horse reared back, baring its teeth at a startled Shinji, who was barely holding onto the reigns in two hands.

"I'm sorry, he can be rather temperamental around people he doesn't know," the woman said. "I'd better give you a hand with him... he can be quite a handful."

As she took the reigns from Shinji, the horse instantly calmed down. She and Shinji walked around the side of the Inn to the stables entrance, where she handed the reigns to Shinji. The horse merely looked at him.

"I trust you can handle him from here?" the woman asked.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied in his quiet voice.

"Thanks. So, what's your name, kid?"

"Shinji," he replied.

"Just Shinji?"

"I don't have any other name than that," Shinji replied quietly.

The woman finally raised one hand and pushed back the hood of her cloak. Her long hair was black, so glossy that it caught the light and took on a purple hue. Her dark brown eyes smiled at him from a face that was split by a warm grin.

"It must be hard living with an old fart like that," she said. Somehow she knew his relation to Barturs. "My name's Katsuragi. Misato Katsuragi."

"I'll take good care of your horse, Miss Katsuragi."

"Misato is fine. I'm sure you'll take more than adequate care of him," she smiled at him again, then flicked a small object towards him. It glinted gold in the light spilling in from outside.

Shinji caught it in one hand. He stared at it, not sure whether to believe his eyes. A gold coin! With just one, Shinji could buy several horses.

"Spend it wisely, Shinji. I'd like to talk with you again a bit later," Misato said as she turned and entered the Inn proper, his shaky words of gratitude following after.

The smell of freshly baked bread and cider assaulted Misato's nostrils as she entered the Inn. A small landing led out into the stables behind her. Judging from the smells, the Inn's cellars were to her left, and the kitchens to the right. Before her lay the entrance to a decent sized common room. 

Misato quickly made herself at home in the room, selecting a good chair and table which afforded her a view of both the back and the front entrance. It was unlikely that anything or anyone would attack her in a remote place such as this, but she could never be too careful. Carelessness was a sure fire way of ending up in an early grave. 

The purple haired woman's eyes lit up as she noticed a large keg situated behind the counter of the bar. The other two patrons of the inn, both appearing to be farmers or something similar, watched in curiosity as Misato approached the bar, to where a small, wrinkly old man waited.

"What can I do for you, my Lady?" he asked. "Some mulled wine, perhaps? Cider?" the man's oily grin and supercilious manner stirred up an instant dislike in Misato.

"Beer," she replied gruffly. "A pint," she added as he reached for a small glass. Looking up at her quizzically, he produced a large glass that he filled to the brim from the keg behind him.

Misato returned to her table and sat down. Then, to the utter amazement of the other three men in the room, she promptly upended the beer into her mouth, drinking furiously. 

"YEEHAAAAAAWWWW!" she cried with a loud belch. Slamming the now half empty tankard down on the table, she threw her feet up, slouching back. 

It was at that moment that a group of aging men entered the Inn through the front door. Barturs greeted them as they entered the common room, motioning for them to take a seat. They pulled chairs out and arranged them in a rough circle before sitting down, all the while casting surreptitious glances towards Misato.

"M'lady, the Village Council has come as you requested," Barturs said as he approached Misato's table. She nodded to him as she stood and approached the circle of elders. 

They looked on with interest and a small amount of suspicion as she approached. Pausing for a second, Misato dug into her small bag and withdrew a rolled sheet of parchment. Unrolling the paper, she began to speak.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," she began. "I am Misato Katsuragi, Captain, first class. I am here on official business for Duke Ikari."

"The High Templar? What does he want from us this time?" asked one of the men, a wizened old man with huge shoulders, evidently a retired blacksmith. 

"The Dark Queen stirs. The seals that bind the Shito in their prison weaken. The High Templar is gathering anyone with magical talent that we might fight the Shito in the event of another awakening."

The village elders looked shaken by this news. It had been nearly seven hundred years since one of the Shito had awakened. His power had shaken the world... it had taken the combined might of the free peoples to destroy him, and at great cost, especially to the magical energy of the planet.

"How... How can we help?" asked one of the elders quietly.

"I am here to test all the youth in the village. Any with Magical talent must accompany me to Tokyo, where they will be trained. I'd like to perform the testing as soon as possible... the return trip will be long, and the testing procedure takes around half an hour per person, sometimes longer. How many between the ages of fourteen and sixteen are there in the village?"

"About twelve," one elder replied. The others nodded.

"Could you please ask each of them to come here? I'll get started with this right away."

-- // --

It was dark. What light there was only managed to lengthen the shadows and make the swirling mist surrounding the throne seem even more threatening. The throne itself stood upon a wide dais, five smooth black marble steps separating the highest level from the ground. A long, purple carpet flowed down the steps and off into the dark fog. The throne was obsidian, and the figure that lounged upon it was so concealed in shadow that it could not be seen, with the exception of two eyes, which burned with a faint, cold blue light. Had the figure not been in deep shadow, the glow from its eyes would have been imperceptible. 

The eyes still struck fear into the only other figure present. His was a tall figure, clad in a dark blue-green cloak. The cloak was pulled close about his shoulders, concealing much of his body. Beneath the cloak, armour was visible, a supple, light suit made of a strange, leather-like substance. His hood was pulled forward, concealing his face. The only adornment he wore was a red jewel, set in the centre of his chest as a brooch, holding his cloak about his shoulders. 

He was the weakest of his kind. An irony, he thought, that he should be the first to be fully released. He could remember the time when his fellows would all kneel before the throne. Surely, his arriving first would gain favour in his Queen's eyes, causing her to elevate his position? He had always coveted a higher position... yet had always been denied it, not for lack of ambition or skill, but lack of opportunity. Despite the amount of fear he felt approaching the throne, the feel of the eyes upon him following his every move, the cloaked figure approached  with an air of confidence, sinking to one knee before the dark figure, his head bowed.

"So, you are the first..." the dark figure upon the throne mused. "Unexpected... but I shall make do." The voice, was cold as ice, quiet, yet sharper than a knife. The menacing voice was also female. "Rise, Cowled One," she said to the figure before her. 

'Cowled One'. That was the name that he had been given when he entered the conclave. In the tongue of the Ancients, his name was Sachiel. However, if his Queen wished to call him by another name, he would not argue. She could call him 'toad' and snuff him from existence if he were to complain.

"My Queen," Sachiel said as he slowly rose to his feet.

"I have instructions for you. You are to -- Who?!!" the dark figure was cut off mid sentence as a figure suddenly appeared in the throne room. It was a young boy, who looked around with no small sense of surprise, his eyes scanning the darkness before coming to rest upon the throne, and the figure before it. Then, as suddenly as the apparition had appeared, it was gone.

"Who was that?!" Sachiel asked, surprised.

The figure had regained her composure instantly. "I don't know. Only those with the blood of the Ancients can enter the dream world at will. But he seemed to be a human. For a human to come here, even by accident... he has power."

"He was just a boy… what threat could a child possibly be?"

"Track him down!" she ordered with a snarl. "Find him, and when you do, bring him before me. His power may be enough to break my bonds. And he may have overheard us... I would not have anyone know that I can communicate despite this prison they have put me in."

"What if I cannot bring him to you alive?"

"If he resists, kill him."   

Sachiel bowed once. His form then shimmered, distorted and disappeared.

-- // --

Shinji's eyes popped open, and he sat forward with a gasp. Groaning, he rubbed his face and looked around, trying to get his bearings. Odd - he'd fallen asleep in the stable hayloft. He'd only sat down for a minute to rest, and the next thing he knew he was asleep and dreaming. The dream seemed to have called to him... it was a strange dream, too. He could still remember one instant of it - it did not fade away like a regular dream. He'd been dreaming of the usual things, and then suddenly he had been thrust into a dark, shadowy chamber. The two figures in the chamber had seemed as surprised to see him as he had them. Then the one on the throne had looked at him. Her eyes seemed to pierce his very soul. That had been when he'd woken up.

He just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. He felt odd, cold as if someone had shoved him into an icy pond... yet the evening was still warm. He also had a slight headache... and a bellyache, although the latter was because he was long overdue for a meal.

Plucking stray bits of hay from his hair, Shinji promptly descended into the stable, and then entered the Inn, turning left into the kitchen. The cook was still there, along with several of her helpers. When he entered, she looked up at him. She was a fat old lady with an even temper and a ready smile. She was also one of the few people who didn't seem to mind Shinji.

"You'll be wanting some food, I suppose?" she asked him with a grin.

Shinji nodded with a small smile. One of the cook's helpers giggled slightly, though whether it was over Shinji or over some shared joke between her and another helper, Shinji had no idea. It could well have been both. Looking away, he missed the quick glance she passed in his direction.

"Right! Megumi, give the boy something. Maybe some of the leftover beef roast, we've got more than enough," the cook ordered to the giggling girl, who stopped giggling at that point and flashed Shinji a venomous glare. Shinji missed this, though; he was in the process of seating himself at the kitchen table. He didn't dare eat in the Inn's common room.

At that point, Misato entered the kitchen. She rubbed at tired eyes, yawning, as she sat down beside Shinji, not seeming to notice him. She'd just spent six and a half hours testing every boy or girl that the Village Council could lay their hands on... even some that were a bit too young or too old. She'd found three who had the ability, meaning that they could learn to use magic. But none of the youth in the village had a latent talent, who could use magic to some extent without prior training. The High Templar would kill her if she didn't find him...            

With a sigh, Misato lifted her head to look at the cook. "Do you have any curry?" she asked hopefully. "I need something to wake me up..."

"Oh, I didn't see you come in, m'lady!" the cook responded. "I'm afraid there's not much call for that sort of thing in these parts..."

"No matter," Misato responded. "I just need a beer, and a place to sit away from that bunch of old vultures," she said, eliciting a laugh from the cook.

At that point, Megumi arrived with a plate of food, which she slammed down in front of Shinji with a glare. Despite the glare, he smiled and thanked her. To his surprise, her glare softened slightly, and she flashed him a quick smile before she caught herself. Megumi was Barturs' niece, and had come to live with her uncle after her father had died, which was only a few months back. Shinji got the impression that Megumi got on with her uncle almost as badly as he himself did.

Misato realised then who she was sitting beside. "Hey, Kid... Shinji, wasn't it?" she asked. He nodded in response. "How old are you? Fifteen?"

"Fourteen," Shinji affirmed as he took a bite of the food set before him - for all her glares, Shinji suspected Megumi liked him, and even if she didn't, she could still put together a great plate of food.

"I thought so... how come I didn't see you for testing?" Misato asked.

"Testing?" Shinji replied, confused.

"I suppose I should do it now... one less thing to do in the morning. Ritsu will kill me if she found out that I missed him..." Misato mused quietly. Reaching into a bag at her belt, Misato withdrew two small stones. One was a small, red jewel that Shinji suspected was a ruby. The other was a clear crystal in teardrop shape. A small star was present in the teardrop, seeming to glow. Misato placed the ruby on the table before them, and placed the teardrop in his hand, directing him to hold it.

"Shinji, I want you to clear your mind. Focus on this gem. The Gem is the only thing that exists... you are the gem... what I'm going to ask you to do is try to make the gem glow. Don't think about it... just do it. Keep your mind clear of any stray thoughts, and concentrate on the gem."

Shinji stared at the gem. It seemed to pull at something inside him. He felt himself slowly being pulled into the gem itself. Suddenly, a burst of awareness flooded into him - the gem sang to him. It seemed to resonate inside, like a crystal glass when struck. 

Sweat poured down his face, but he barely noticed it. He was too engrossed in the crystal. Somehow he had to make it glow. On a whim, he tried to increase the resonance in the crystal. Nothing happened, but he felt a sudden surge within himself. Realising what he needed to do, he grabbed at that strange surge, forcing it into the crystal. In turn, the crystal began to glow a bright red colour.

Suddenly, the strange sense of oneness he had shared with the crystal disappeared. He returned to his body, panting and wiping sweat from his face. He looked over at Misato, who returned the look with a level, speculative gaze. 

"Good... very good. Most people take ten to fifteen minutes to do that... if they can do it at all. That was very quick. You have a high degree of magical aptitude, that's certain." Misato reached out her hand, taking from him the other gem, the teardrop shaped one. "This time, I'm not going to connect you to the Gem. You have to become one with the gem on your own. Make it glow, Shinji. You might find it easier to hold it."

Nodding, Shinji set about his task. He fixed the gem in his mind, and then closed his eyes. Immediately, he felt it, the resonance from within the gem. He could see, in his mind's eye, a myriad of lines and interconnected wisps radiating from the gem. The threads constantly swirled, coming and going like eddying mists. 

Shinji tried to grasp one of the threads, and it slipped through his clumsy grasp. Again, he tried, this time succeeding. Immediately, he felt the thread begin to pull him in, just as the previous gem had. Surrendering himself to the pull, he once again found his consciousness within the gem, and he could feel the resonance. This time, though, something within him seemed to resonate in time with the gem. Cautiously, he reached out with his mind to the strange resonance, once again feeling a surge within himself. As he did with the previous gem, he attempted to redirect the surge into the gem. This time, however, the surge resisted him. He was forced to do more than guide it... he reached out and forced the surge into the gem.

Opening his eyes, Shinji stared down at the gem in his hand. It was glowing with a pale light, and within the gem Shinji could see something. The image gradually formed, that of pale, worn looking young man. His eyes were red, and his hair an odd shade of grey. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties, but his eyes belied that. They seemed old, worn by the inexorable tide of time. The man was clad in white armour, wielding a long, slightly curved sword, the hilt of which was constructed from some strange purple metal. Slowly, the image faded from view, and as it went, so did the glow. 

Shinji looked up, realising that the image had appeared and disappeared in the space of a few seconds. Misato was directing a strange look at him, almost as if she was weighing and measuring him with her gaze. Quickly, the look dissolved into a smile. "I thought you could do it. Shinji... you have a great gift." Her face became more sombre and serious. "Shinji... I'd like you to accompany me to the Templar Academy in Tokyo. Think about it, and let me know in the morning, okay?"

            -- // --

Rei Ayanami had no memory of her parents. Her earliest memory was that of the man she had come to look upon as father, Duke Gendou Ikari, the High Templar. It did seem mildly curious to her that someone of the Duke's status would bother with her. The only explanation she could come up with was that he needed her for something. And whatever her task was, it was not related to the purpose for which she had been trained throughout her last five years.

Rei was a trained warrior. Five years of training within the Templar Academy had honed her physical and magical skills to a level that would make her, at fourteen, the equal of any hire-sword or mercenary out there. She was still a few years off gaining the level of Templar, but already she had surpassed most of her peers, completing in five years what had taken them seven - and in some cases eight. However, she felt that she was barely touching the tip of the iceberg as far as her potential went. Within her was power - power to be the most powerful Templar ever, but she had no idea how to tap it.

In truth, Rei was receiving extra training as well. The High Templar had been training her in secret even before she was enrolled at the Academy, readying her for the battle that inexorably approached. She had felt it, as had others. The resonance of the land felt somehow disturbed, as if some long-healed wound was aching as a storm approached. The Shito stirred in their tomb. That, apparently, was her purpose, to defeat the Shito and their minions. 

As Rei strode through the great marble halls of the Templar Keep, she couldn't help noticing that something felt wrong. Something was out of place, as if it did not belong within the harmony of the land. And the feeling was gradually increasing. It had been increasing all day. Something was coming - and Rei had a suspicion that she knew exactly what it was.

So it was that she found herself approaching the large office from which the High Templar guided and directed his organisation. She opened one of the tall wooden double doors, and stepped into the dimly lit stone-walled room. Pausing for a moment to allow her blood-red eyes to adjust to the light, she took in her surroundings, from the odd carving on the floor and ceiling to the large wooden desk, behind which sat the man she had come to talk to. She barely even registered the other occupant of the room - the High Templar's trusted adviser, Kozou Fuyutsuki.

Gendou Ikari rarely wore the red-lined black armour his rank allowed - it sat on a rack behind the desk, polished and ready for use if needs be. Instead, he garbed himself in a black coat and trousers. Beneath the coat, Rei could see he wore a red shirt, as she would have expected. One did not simply mix and match the parts of the uniform of the Templar. The only addition that he made to the usual uniform was a set of white leather gloves. In all the time that he had looked after her, Rei had never seen his hands - he wore the gloves perpetually.

His dark eyes flashed in a glare from his bearded face as the door opened, but the gaze softened as he recognised his visitor. "Rei. What is it?" he asked quietly. 

Quietly, Rei told the High Templar of her unease. "Something is wrong. There is a disturbance..."

"I know. I have been feeling it for days," Gendou replied, irked.

"It grows stronger. They return." Rei's tone left no doubt that she was certain of what she spoke.

"Are you sure?"

"I have felt it."

"Strange that I haven't," Gendou now sounded intrigued. "Was that all?" he asked her. Rei simply nodded slightly. Turning, she quietly glided from the room.

"There can be no mistake?" Fuyutsuki asked as the door shut.

"No. She was certain."

"Then..."

"Yes. The Shito awaken."

-- // --

Shinji did not sleep well that night. He lay in his bed in the Inn's attic, tossing and turning in the grips of fevered dreams. The dreams consisted of strange images rolled together - and throughout them all, he was being pursued by an unknown, cloaked figure. 

He was being pursued through a maze this time. Whenever he looked back, he saw the cloaked figure slowly gaining upon him. The maze itself consisted of black granite walls, the floor composed of hard packed earth. There was a strange illumination in the maze, lighting his path, although he could not see any source for the light. All he knew was that he needed to run. His pursuer must not catch him, or he would be worse than dead. And so, Shinji ran, taking random turns and hoping he would not run into a dead end.

Finally, Shinji had exhausted himself. He could run no further without taking a rest. Looking around, he could see no sign of his strange pursuer, so he assumed it was safe to stop and catch is breath for a second.

At that moment, a hand reached out and grabbed Shinji's arm. "A simple chase..." muttered the voice of his pursuer. "We were afraid of one such as you?"

Shinji could not see his captor. Nor could he shake his grip. The hand, gloved in blue-green leather, was too strong.

"Wh... Who are you?" Shinji asked with no small level of fear.

"Among my people, I was called Sachiel. 'The Cowled One'"

"What do you want from me?"

"My Queen directed me to bring you to her. You may come alive or dead, it is up to you."

"This... This is a dream! You can't take me anywhere!" Shinji exclaimed.

"You might be surprised, boy," Sachiel growled. 

Shinji's eyes widened... he suddenly recognised Sachiel's voice. What he did next, Shinji could never recall. He must have done something, though, because Sachiel roared in pain, releasing Shinji. Shinji then woke from his fitful sleep with a start, his eyes bursting open.

Misato chose that moment to burst through the door. "Shinji! Get dressed, quickly. We have to get out of here, NOW!"

"What?! What's happening?"

"There was a massive surge of power just before, from this room. And it wasn't from you."

"How do you know?"

"No time to explain! We need to be gone from here, and we need to have left yesterday!"

Shinji realised that Misato was scared. And that scared him. He quickly dressed, and they made their way down to the Stables, where Misato rapidly saddled her own horse, then pulled out another, a fiery red horse that Barturs had conned someone out of a while back. 

Despite what the villagers would say, Shinji hadn't stolen a thing in his life. So, as Misato began to saddle the second horse, Shinji couldn't help himself. "Um... isn't that... theft?"

Misato looked over at him with a sheepish grin. "Well... yeah. You need a horse, right? Anyway, It's an emergency!"

"I doubt anyone will buy that excuse..." Shinji responded quietly.

"Quiet..." Misato whispered. "We don't want whatever it is to know we're here."

"What's going on, anyway?" Shinji responded in a whisper.

"I don't know... all I know is that there is something out there with… power... the only things it could be here for are me... or maybe for you."

"Me?!" Shinji exclaimed. 

"I'm taking you to Tokyo. Don't argue, okay?"

Shinji nodded. 

It was then that the door between the inn and the stables opened. Misato was moving in an instant, red-hilted Katana in one hand. She quickly reached through the doorway, grabbing the newcomer by the arm and hurling them to the ground. The terrified girl let out a pitiful squeak as she found herself suddenly on the stable floor with two and a half feet of sharpened steel hovering above her throat.

"Megumi?" Shinji said, recognising the innkeeper's niece.

"Dammit, Girl! You nearly got yourself killed!" Misato sheathed her sword and helped the girl to her feet. "What are you doing down here at this time of night?"

"I might ask you the same thing." Arms crossed beneath her breasts, she fixed Misato and Shinji with a frown.

"There's... something after me," Shinji said quietly. 

"That's right. I'm taking him to Tokyo, right now," Misato added.

"You mean... you aren't going to take me too? I thought you said I had the gift?!" Megumi now looked quite disappointed.

"I'll send someone back to pick you and the other two up," Misato replied. "We need to move! It's getting closer... I think it's in the Inn."

"You promise you'll send someone?"

"I promise."

Before Shinji could move, Megumi ran up to him, grabbed his hand and gave him a peck on the cheek. Stunned, he simply stared at her. "For luck," she explained with a small smile. "Get moving, idiot! I'll see you in Tokyo!"

Misato had a small smirk on her face. "Okay, Shinji... we're going to make a run for it. Lead your horse out... we'll mount outside."

Shinji quickly complied while Misato doused the lantern she had been holding, and then slowly opened the door to the stables. Checking left and right, she motioned Shinji forward.

"GO!" she said in a loud whisper, and took off. Shinji was only a few seconds behind her. They both walked their horses to the shadow of a nearby building. Shinji turned to look back at the inn, just as a massive surge of energy exploded from the windows. The inn was suddenly a bonfire, burning hotter than a furnace.

With the fiery background, it was easy to spot the silhouettes. From the blaze ran three figures. Shinji only recognised one of them - it was Megumi. Stumbling from the blaze, she fell to her knees, coughing. From within the blaze strode another figure, a tall, cloaked shape with large, powerful shoulders. He strode right up to Megumi, reached down and picked her up by the neck, holding her easily two feet in the air. Glaring up at the girl held in his grasp, the cloaked figure sneered. "Where is the boy?" he hissed. 

"Wh... What... boy?" the terrified kitchen hand croaked, struggling for breath against the vice-like grip at her throat.

"Megumi!" Shinji shouted before he could stop himself. The figure slowly turned to look at him, and Shinji could feel his grin. The silhouette's arm flexed, crushing the throat of his victim and throwing the corpse to the ground. Her eyes stared into Shinji's accusingly as the spark of life left her young body. 

"There you are, boy!" the figure said, his voice dripping with malice. 

"Shinji! RUN!" Misato cried from the shadows. "I'll catch up to you."

Shinji didn't think at all. He just turned his horse and galloped away as fast as he could, leaving Misato and the monstrous man behind him. Clamping one hand to his cheek, Shinji rode blindly away from the village.

"You shall not have him," Misato announced as she moved her horse out to block the man's path. He stopped ten feet clear of her, watching Shinji's retreating form. Finally, he turned his attention toward her.

"A Templar?" he asked. Misato inclined her head slightly. "Truly, we have nothing to fear if the Templar are now as weak as you!" he exclaimed, laughing quietly.

"You... a Shito?" Misato asked, finally putting it all together.

"Indeed," he replied.

"Which of them are you?"

"You are about to die, so my name is useless to you."

Misato's eyes widened. She barely had a chance to move before the Shito raised his hand, a ball of energy lancing out to strike her in the shoulder, sending her spinning to the ground, unhorsed. Had she not started moving when she had, it would have struck her full in the chest.

The Templar's vision swam as pain hit her. Sachiel's form stood above her, gloating. In his hand, he held a long dagger. Desperation overwhelmed Misato, and with it a plan emerged. Closing her eyes, she waited for him to get closer. Once he was close enough, she quickly cast one of the few spells she had the power to use safely. A brilliant ball of white light slammed into Sachiel's cowled head, blinding him momentarily. A moment was all she needed. Quickly, she mounted her horse, her teeth clenched at the pain radiating from her shoulder. Luckily, it was not broken, although her dress was ruined and the flesh beneath was burnt and bruised. Whirling her horse, she quickly galloped away from the Shito, trying to put as much ground between them as possible.

Once she had cleared enough space between herself and the still blinded Shito, she whirled about. Pulling out the teardrop gem with which she had tested Shinji, Misato closed her eyes, lifting one hand outstretched before her while the other clutched the gem. The glow in the gem began to intensify, quickly reaching a point where it would have blinded anyone who looked directly at it. A glowing red ball of energy formed in Misato's outstretched hand, slowly gaining size until it was the size of a ripe coconut. 

Misato's eyes snapped open as she cast the ball of energy high above herself. Turning her horse, she threw it back into a gallop away from the village, the shattered remains of the gem falling from her grip.

Shinji had hopped down from his horse, and was standing, staring into space, his hand still clamped to his cheek, where the now dead innkeeper's niece had so unexpectedly kissed him. A single tear rolled down Shinji's cheek, and he hung his head, barely aware of his surroundings, or the danger he was in. He certainly wasn't expecting Misato to come barrelling up to him at high speed. Nor did was he expecting her to expend the last of her energy in leaping from her horse to tackle him, bringing him to the ground with a yelled "get down!"

The world went white as Misato's spell detonated.

-- // --

Misato's eyes finally cracked open, her vision slowly focusing on the slightly frightened young man hovering above her.

"Are you alright, Miss Misato?" he asked with genuine concern.

"Yeah," she replied as she forced herself up into a sitting position, one hand going to her head as a headache began to develop.  "I'm alright, all things considered." She chose that moment to move her other arm, and winced in pain as the wound in her shoulder cried out in protest.

"You're hurt!" Shinji cried as he noticed the patch of blackened fabric where Sachiel's energy ball had struck her. 

"Don't worry! It's not bad. I'll put something on it later... we need to get out of here!"

"But... didn't you kill him?"

"Kill one of the Shito? No. Not with a spell as weak as that."

Shinji looked shocked. "That was a *weak* spell? You annihilated half the village!"

Misato's eyes fell to the ground for a second as she realised what she had actually done. "I know, I know. It was a stupid thing to do... I didn't have time to think of anything else... that was my last resort," she said quietly, her voice filled with remorse.

"What did you do, anyway?"

"It was just a fireball, but much bigger than normal. Usually, I can only handle enough magic to make a fireball the size of a grape, and the effort of that is usually enough to leave me exhausted.

"I used an amplification stone. It allows me to handle much larger amounts of magical energy without danger... but I drew more than I could safely handle even with the stone." Misato explained as she shakily pulled herself to her feet.

"Anyway, that blast should have hurt him. He'll have run off somewhere to hide and recover. I figure it gave us about a half-day's head start."

"That's it? Twelve hours to recover from a blast that destroyed most of a village?" Shinji asked, astounded. "What chance do we have then?"

"Do you still have the coin I gave you?" Misato asked intently.

"Uh... yeah." Shinji responded, digging the gold coin out of his pocket and showing it to her.

"Here," Misato said as she handed him another coin. "This coin is specially warded. He seemed surprised to find me here, so I'm pretty sure it was you that he was after. That means that he probably has some method of tracking you. Keep those coins on you at all times, and he won't be able to find us. Although, if he's close enough, even that ward won't keep you concealed from him." Misato elaborated as she mounted her horse.

Shinji nodded. Slowly, he mounted his horse, his eyes distant. "Miss Misato... I want to come with you. There's nothing for me here any more."

Misato nodded. "I'm glad to have you come along of your own free will... I wish it could be under happier circumstances," she replied as they set their horses in motion toward Tokyo.

-- // --

They rode all day, stopping twice along the way to eat and give the horses a rest. At the first stop, Misato took the liberty of changing out of her ruined riding dress into her Templar armour. The armour itself was simple - a black breastplate, black knee length mail kirtle, and a red cloak. On the left breast of the breastplate was a white shield, indicating Misato's rank as a captain. On her hands, she wore red-brown reinforced leather gauntlets, and on her feet red knee length reinforced boots. She opted against wearing the helmet, though - it always ruined her hair. As always, Misato's red-hilted sword rode at her waist. 

Finally, they set up camp for the night in a small forest, which Misato explained afforded better cover in case the Shito was following them. Misato forbade Shinji to set up a fire of any kind, so they ate their evening meal cold.With Misato handling the food, it tasted even worse than it usually would have, but Shinji didn't notice. He ate mechanically, not uttering a single complaint. After exchanging a few words, Shinji settled down to sleep while Misato sat watch. 

Shinji couldn't sleep. Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw her face, her eyes gazing into his, somehow accusing him. "Why? Why didn't you save me? Why am I dead, while you live?" Clamping his hand to his cheek once more, Shinji found himself unable to cry. It disturbed him that he could cause the death of another human, yet he could not grieve when she was gone. To Shinji's mind, it was his fault that Megumi had died. Had Shinji never been there, she would still be alive, as carefree and happy as ever. He was no better than the Shito... he might as well have held the girl's arms while the Shito delivered the deathblow. 

"I'm sorry..." was all he could say in response. 

That morning, Shinji was still preoccupied. As they cleared the campsite and mounted, Misato noticed Shinji's absent gaze and mechanical manner. He'd been the same the previous night... Misato knew what it was that was eating at him, and couldn't help remembering the blood that was now on her hands - she'd surely killed several villagers with that fireball. Finally, as they set up camp that night, Shinji's absent silence got to her. 

"Shinji... it wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself... he would have killed her regardless. And if you'd stayed, you'd be dead too... or worse."

"I know that, Misato... but I can't help feeling that I should have done more."

Misato then realised that he needed something to take his mind off of recent events. "If you'd had a sword, what would you have done?"

"I don't know how to use a sword..." Shinji replied.

"I can help you with that!" Misato announced. From her saddlebags, she withdrew her spare sword. It was a Katana, much like the one she wore at her waist. It was far less ornate, though, yet just as well crafted. The handle was wood, wrapped in sharkskin then bound with strips of woven brown silk for extra grip. The sheath was lacquered black, and emblazoned with a stylised pine tree in gold paint. "I've had this one for years, Shinji. Its name is 'Matsutaka'... I'd like you to have it."

Shinji considered it, carefully. "I'm not sure if I want to have a sword..."

"You never know when you might need to defend yourself, Shinji... or someone else."

"I don't know how to use it..."

"I'll teach you."

Shinji hesitated for a few seconds before sighing. "Alright..."

That night, Misato led Shinji through a series of drills, teaching him the use of the sword. At first, he appeared to be preoccupied and disinterested, but eventually he seemed to focus on the task, and Misato was amazed at how quickly he began to learn the techniques. Shinji found himself becoming lost in the repetitive series of forms and stances, his mind focused on that one thing, to the exclusion of all other thought. It was a release, and Shinji found himself enjoying the training.

Misato had led Shinji on a winding trail away from Tokyo, zigzagging this way and that. She explained that they would come around and approach Tokyo from the west, through the mountains, making it much harder to track them and also affording them much better cover - the direct route to Tokyo was open grasslands, whereas her looping approach was primarily untravelled roads through forests.

There were, naturally, a number of downsides. One being that the approach would mean a longer, more difficult trek - it would be at least a week until they arrived. The other downside was that the extra cover could be used against Shinji and Misato, making it much easier to spring an ambush upon them. Misato was not worried, for bandits were quite unlikely to jump on a fully armoured Templar, especially one wearing the black that was reserved for the senior warriors and strategists within the organisation. The High Templar himself had worn the same jet-black armour in his younger days.

Each night, Misato spent an hour before they slept instructing Shinji in the use of the blade, including teaching him several sword forms. Shinji, though reluctant at first, proved to be quite a quick learner. He could almost feel his mind and body sharpening under the discipline, which he had never before experienced. He also quickly took over the preparation of food - Misato was adept at making even the simplest of meals taste awful. 

Finally, after a week's travel, they arrived at their destination. They stood at an outcropping, staring at the city in the distance below. The sun was just setting, bathing the entire area in an orange glow. The largest part of the walled-in city sported its own protective walls. Within was enclosed a huge area of open ground, including parkland, a small lake and many tracks and fields. This area also sported several buildings, the largest of which was a tall, forbidding black keep. This was undoubtedly the Templar academy and headquarters.

At that point, a group of riders in similar armour to Misato's rode up. The leader's armour was mainly white, and he had also opted not to wear his helmet, revealing his short, slicked back hair and open, moderately handsome face. 

"Welcome back, Captain," He nodded to Misato.

"Good evening, Lieutenant," Misato responded.

The Lieutenant glanced at Shinji. "I take it this is the boy?"

Misato nodded. "Sure is, Hyuga. His name is Shinji."

Hyuga turned his attention towards Shinji, who was getting the feeling that something odd was going on. "Shinji, Duke Ikari wishes to speak with you right away," Hyuga said. "He also expects you to report to him and give an explanation for the massive surge of power which flattened half of Matsushiro, Captain"

 Misato did not want to be reminded of that.  "Let's just say that you need to make sure that the walls are all manned. Tell the guards that if a tall man in a dark blue-green cloak tries to enter the city, they need to prevent it. He was wearing strange hide armour, similar shade to his cloak... his hood was up, so I never saw his face. Oh, and his cloak is probably singed or burned in parts. Tell the men to be careful, though. I saw him crush a young woman's neck with one hand."

Shinji found his hand coming up to his cheek again as he heard that.

Hyuga nodded, sending one of his men straight to the gatehouse. Misato thought of one other thing. "Oh, and can you ask Rei to report to me, please? I think we're gonna need her."

-- // --

Shinji couldn't help feeling at least a small deal of trepidation as he slowly walked through the strangely empty stone corridors of the Templar Headquarters. It seemed odd to him that the Templar Academy should be so... lifeless. It seemed foreboding, somehow, increasing Shinji's level of tension. 

Finally Misato elaborated on the reason for the desolation. "You know, up till about five hundred years ago, all the rooms in this building would have been filled. The Templar order has diminished so much that we now only use about half the building. On the bright side, I can get a decent apartment all to myself!"

"Trust you to think like that, Captain," came a cool, logical voice from ahead, prompting Shinji to look up. The newcomer was dressed in a long white robe, beneath which a bright blue shirt peeked through. In her hand, she held a long wooden staff, atop which was set a jewel with a star somehow inscribed within, not unlike Misato's now destroyed amplification stone. The woman had blonde hair, an odd shade that seemed as if it were concealing something. Her face was pleasant, spoiled slightly by the mole on one cheek, and by the cold, calculating blue eyes.

"Ritsuko!" Misato exclaimed.

Stepping closer, Ritsuko kept her eyes locked upon Misato's. "You're late," she announced. Misato withered visibly.

"I... uh... we took the long way. More cover." Misato looked moderately uncomfortable.

"I see." Ritsuko's gaze shifted to Shinji. "Is this the boy?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure he is."

"Well, we'll soon know for sure." Shinji wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. "Shinji, wasn't it?" The blonde mage asked.

"Um... yes," Shinji replied timidly.

"Good, good. Let's hurry along then. The Duke is waiting for you."

Ritsuko led them down the corridor to a set of large wooden doors. Opening them, she stepped inside, motioning Shinji to enter.

Shinji found himself within the large stone room, which had once been a gigantic practice hall, but seemed to have seen a lot less wear over the last few years than one would have expected. The room had six large pillars, three on either side of the room, suspending a vaulted ceiling like one would expect in a cathedral. Down the centre of the room was a wide expanse of red stone tiles, which stood out sharply from the shiny black granite of the area beneath the pillars.

On either side of the red expanse was a steel rack. On one rack, an orange and black suit of armour was visible. On the other was another suit of armour, this one purple. The eye slits on the purple suit of armour seemed to be glaring at Shinji as he entered, but somehow he didn't feel the least bit put off. It seemed somehow... familiar. 

Beside the purple suit stood a man. He ran one white-gloved hand across the shiny surface of the helmet, and then looked up at Shinji. Locking eyes with the boy, Duke Gendou Ikari, the High Templar, gave Shinji a cold, calculating stare.

Recognition sparked in Shinji's mind. That gaze sparked a cascade of memories, of a younger, beardless Gendou Ikari. Of him laughing, smiling... turning his back and walking away on Shinji, leaving him in the care of an innkeeper, unwanted and cast away like a broken toy. "Father..." Shinji said in a quiet, timid voice.

A cold smile lit across Gendou's face as Shinji tore his gaze away. "It's been a while."

Shinji turned to look at Misato, who he realised would not meet his gaze. "You were never sent to test the village," he accused quietly. "You were sent to get me specifically, weren't you?"

"I'm sorry Shinji," Misato began.

"So am I," Shinji replied, his voice carrying a hint of betrayal. "So, were you lying with what you said to Megumi, too?"

"No. She really did have the gift, and I was going to bring her back here too."

Shinji frowned, and returned his gaze to his father. "Why? Why did you send for me, after all these years?"

"Because I have a use for you," the Duke replied coldly. 

"Why? What do you want from me?" Shinji asked, his voice louder and considerably more strained. "What possible use could I be?"

"This suit," Gendou began as he again stroked the surface of the purple helmet, "belonged to your mother. It is an Evangelion... and with it, you will fight the Shito."

"What? You dragged me all this way because you want me to kill for you? No! I won't do it! I won't kill." Shinji's voice was now quite a bit louder and much more shrill.

"You would be compensated-"

 "I don't want your money..." Shinji interrupted.

It was at that moment that the ground shook as something nearby exploded with momentous force. Shinji found it extremely difficult to keep his balance.

"That was close... it's here. It's coming..." Gendou said quietly. "It must sense us." His voice suddenly became louder. "Someone find Rei! This one is useless to me."

As if on cue, the doors behind them flew open as a young, blue haired girl ran inside. She was bleeding from a cut right above her left eye, the blood seeping out almost exactly the same colour as her eyes. "I have slowed it down..." she announced quietly.

"Excellent. Get suited up... you can't have slowed it for long," Gendou replied as Rei came to a painful stop beside Shinji.

Upon hearing Gendou's words, Rei's eyes flicked quickly towards Shinji, then returned to Gendou's in an unspoken question.

"He refuses to fight."

Rei simply nodded, and proceeded to disrobe down to her underwear, showing neither modesty nor shame in doing so in public. Shinji felt his cheeks burning as he quickly averted his eyes... although he couldn't help taking the odd peek. He was, after all, fourteen.

Rei quickly donned the armour. It was comprised of a large torso armouring, which included a breastplate, large shoulder cops and a metal kirtle, which stretched down to mid-thigh. The armour also included elbow-length gauntlets, the wrist and upper arm of which were plated with the same strange metal of the breastplate. On her legs, Rei pulled on a pair of what appeared to be leather knee-high pants, then over the top went reinforced knee-high boots, complete with a metal knee guard. Finally, Rei donned the helmet. It was all composed of metal, and was an elaborate affair, more of a crown or circlet than a true helmet. On either side, above and slightly in front of the ear, a white wing stretched out, angling backwards to a feathered point. The circlet's band was visible stretching across her forehead through her hair. In the centre of the band, suspended directly across Rei's forehead, was a large, round blue jewel. Shinji then noticed that the breastplate and metallic wrist guards also sported a gem.

As Rei donned the helmet, the four red jewels pulsed with a strange luminescence. The armour, which had hung loosely on the girl's slight frame, began to flow and move, becoming skin-tight and hugging her form like a second skin. Rei quickly stretched, ensuring that none of her movements was encumbered, which they weren't. She moved as if she wore nothing at all, as if the Evangelion Armour was a part of her.

Blue eyes met red as Rei turned to face Shinji. 'Ikari,' she seemed to say in greeting, but her lips didn't move. It was as if she were speaking directly into his mind. This was sufficient to scare Shinji into breaking eye contact. 'Why do you run from it? Evangelion and you are linked.'

"What do you mean?" Shinji asked quietly.

Again she spoke directly into his mind. 'It belonged to your mother. It is yours.'

"I don't know how to use it."

'You do.'

"I don't want it."

'It would sadden your mother to hear that.'

This made Shinji pause. "You knew my mother?"

"Yes," Rei responded quietly, speaking aloud to him for the first time. 

"What are you going to do?" Shinji asked.

'I will fight the Shito.' She returned to speaking telepathically.

"But... it's too powerful. It'll kill you!"

'That may be true.'

"What will happen if you fail?"

'The Dark Queen will be reborn. The world will be broken, and its peoples enslaved by the Shito.'

"What difference would I make, then?" Shinji asked, his confidence waning again.

'I do not know.'

"I... I don't know what to do"

"So here you are, boy!" a triumphant voice boomed. "And what's this? You pathetic fools managed to dig up an Evangelion – no, two?!" the voice broke into a peal of malicious laughter. "Wait... these are mere copies."

"Reveal yourself." Rei commanded emotionlessly.

"You think to command the Shito, girl?" the voice snarled. "You forget your place. On your knees, wench!" Rei's eyes bulged as an invisible blow landed on the back of her head causing her to fall forward, landing on her knees. She continued to slump forward, dazed and barely conscious.

"Rei!" cried out both Gendou and Shinji at once. 

"Rei is her name? Well, boy, I suggest you listen well," the Shito announced as he materialised before the armour-clad girl. "My Queen commands that I bring you before her. But I'm sure she'd be equally interested in this... 'Rei'. The ability to use an Evangelion, even a copy, is very rare." 

Suddenly, the Shito whirled, his burnt cloak swirling behind him as he shot one hand out towards Misato, who had been steadily approaching. An invisible fist seemed to collide with her, sending her flying backwards to hit one of the walls with a loud thump, then slowly slide back to the ground, barely maintaining consiousness. "Ah, the fireball girl is here too! I still owe you for that, Templar... when my work here is done, I'll be coming back to settle that debt." Turning back to Shinji, he laughed again. "I fail to see why the mistress would need you, boy. I think I shall just kill you, and this girl as well," the Shito announced as he reached forth his hand towards Rei.

To his surprise, she shot up towards him, long knife in hand. But she was still shaky from the blow to her head, and her attack lacked any real speed or power. Sachiel quickly recovered, grabbing the blue-haired girl's wrist with one hand and twisting her arm around, causing the blade to drop from her hand. The Shito then slammed his other fist into the girl's upturned elbow, causing her arm to break with a loud, wet snap. Her scream echoed throughout the room as she fell forward to her knees again, holding her crookedly bent arm tenderly and whimpering in pain. Sachiel then bent down slightly, drawing his own long-bladed knife and tilting the red-eyed girl's head back slightly.

With a pained moan, Rei opened her eyes slightly to look up into Shinji's eyes. "Help me!" screamed her voice in his mind.

"Rei..." Shinji said quietly, unable to decide what he should do.

The Shito's head turned to look at Shinji again as he let out an evil chuckle. "Shall I kill her, boy? The ability to use an Evangelion is very rare... I'm sure my mistress would not be upset were I to bring this girl before her instead of you."

Whether or not Shinji heard his words was hard to tell. He was staring into Rei's eyes as she writhed in pain. Rei gave one last gasp before lapsing into unconsciousness. 

"If you wish to abandon this girl to a fate worse than death, then so be it. I shall wait for half an hour. If you wish to take her place, you will come before me before then." The Shito hefted Rei's unconscious body up, tossed her over his shoulder, and strode out of the room.

"Damn it, what do I do?" he asked himself quietly. 

"Shinji, only you can stand a chance against one of the Shito. It is your decision, but I advise you to make it quickly!" Ritsuko said, finally breaking the silence she had maintained throughout the encounter. "More lives hang in the balance than just Rei's."

"How can I fight him? I've never fought anyone in my life!" Shinji responded loudly.

"Any chance, no matter how remote, is better than no chance at all," Gendou responded quietly, as calm as ever.

"He'll just kill me, and then take Rei anyway!"

Misato painfully hauled herself to her feet. "Shinji, you have to choose. If you don't do anything, can you live with yourself, knowing that Rei is dead - or worse - and you could have prevented it?"

An image flashed through Shinji's mind, of a pair of eyes staring into his as the life left them - dark brown eyes... Megumi's eyes. As he stared into them, though, they seemed to shift, changing into blood red. Rei. Would he let a second girl die because of him? He knew he couldn't live with himself if he did. That he had one girl's blood on his hands was enough.

With a resigned sigh, Shinji accepted his fate. "Alright! I'll do it. I'll fight the Shito." 

So it was that Shinji found himself clad in the armour of his late mother. It felt odd - strangely comfortable and natural. And it was light - it was like wearing a light cotton shirt and leather gloves. 

The armour itself was purple metal and black hide, and was similar to Rei's in style. The shoulder armouring was much heavier, though, and the leg armour extended all the way up the thigh. It also had no kirtle. From the large shoulder armouring hung a black-lined purple cloak, which managed to make Shinji's skinny form seem more bulky. The other difference was in the helmet. Shinji's was a full helmet, which covered his entire face except his eyes. One curious feature of the helmet was that there was a single horn protruding from the centre of its forehead. It also lacked the Gem that Rei's headpiece boasted. 

As Shinji placed the helmet on his head, he expected the armour to tighten about him, and was surprised when it did not. Then he noticed what he was missing. A long, purple and red hilted Katana was resting at the feet of the rack upon which the Evangelion Armour had rested. Picking it up, he belted it to his waist and drew the blade.

The armour constricted about him, flowing and moulding itself to his body as the gems on chest, wrists and sword pommel blazed with red fire. A feeling of power surged through Shinji... he felt that, with the right word or action, he could jump over a building. More disturbing than that was how... right... the suit felt. It seemed as if he and it had been parted at birth. And Shinji wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

"I'm ready, I guess," Shinji announced as he walked out the battered door into the darkened corridor. He knew now that he had to fight - if not, others would die, and it would be his fault for not doing anything.

Misato couldn't do anything but watch as Shinji walked out the door. Deep down, she felt somehow ashamed for forcing him into the situation, but at the same time she was glad that he had made the right decision. "Good luck, Shinji... don't get killed out there," she whispered as his purple clad figure disappeared into the darkness.

---  
To Be Continued...

----------------------  
Author's Notes  
----------------------

Whee! Finally finished episode one! It's quite long, I guess... the longest piece I've ever written, I believe. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.  


I must acknowledge some inspiration here. One of the major inspirations for writing this fic was John Biles and Rod M.'s Children of an Elder God, specifically the 'dreamworld' sequences, which was one of my favourite parts of that fanfic. If you haven't read CoaEG, read it now! Don't bother with my junk. ^_^

Anyway... I tried to keep everyone as in character as possible. I'm using a bit of the 'Manga Shinji'... he does have a bit more backbone than he should, I think. As for Rei... let me get this out straight off... this is NOT intended to be a Rei / Shinji fic (not to say it's a Shinji / Asuka fic either… I don't know for sure that I'll be favouring ANY pairing. It's the quality of writing that counts, not the pairing of characters). Her being able to communicate with him telepathically has a very simple explanation... which I'm not gonna tell ya! ^_^ Figure it out, and you're entitled to a cookie.

In case you're wondering... the magic system I'm using is a hybrid of that of the Wheel of Time novels by Robert Jordan, and the almost scientific (if that's possible) magical explanation that author Ian Irvine uses in the 'Well of Echoes' trilogy (of which only the first volume is available to my knowledge... if you can get any of Irvine's books, I highly recommend them). 

In fact, there are a number of tie-ins with the Wheel of Time universe, not the least of which is the imprisonment of the Shito (I went for 'Shito' rather than 'Angel' since it sounds more fantasy-ish)

As for the Evangelions... at the time, it seemed more original to make them suits of armour rather than mecha a la Rayearth. It seems like everyone does it this way, though ^_^. Ah well, could be worse. Hopefully the background will be slightly original. The design for Shinji's suit was inspired mainly by that of Zagato from Magic Knight Rayearth, while Rei's was a merging of the three girls from said Manga (poor me, I haven't seen the MKR anime at all ;_;  ) and 'Pirogoeth', a piece of art by Piro and Merekat of Megatokyo (www.megatokyo.com) fame... I have the poster framed on my wall. ^_^ There is also, naturally, some incorporation of the basic Evangelion mecha designs.

As for Megumi... well originally she had a much smaller part (MUCH smaller... she just handed him some food ^_^ ). One of my prereaders (You know who you are!) recommended that I expand on her a bit, getting a bit more interaction happening before she shuffled off this mortal coil. I was hesitant at first... but now I quite like her. Shame I killed her. ^_^ I know that some people really dislike ACC. I hope she doesn't put anyone off. For the record, no, Megumi did NOT blame Shinji for her death. It's all in his mind. 

Ah, I do prattle on. I promise that the next episode won't be quite this long... I sure hope it won't be! Besides that, thanks for reading, see you in part 2. Oh, and C&C will be welcomed with open arms. I'd almost be tempted to pay for good C&C... almost. ~_^ Direct it to dchris1@bigpond.net.au

Big thank you to my prereaders!

Weltall Elite  
Alnilam  
Mephisto  
Coefficient

_11th Jan 2002, 1:52 AM - First Draft  
22nd Jan 2002, 1:45 AM - Second Draft  
1st April 2002, 11:58 PM – EFML draft  
27th April 2002, 11:59 PM - Not-So-Final Draft  
7th May 2002m 10:59 PM - Final Draft (I hope)_


	2. Part 2: Runaway / The Vault

---------------  
** Blood of the Ancients**  
An Evangelion Fanfic

Evangelion is copyright Gainax / Project Eva. This is a work of fan fiction, Non Profit, and so on. 

Conceived and written by:  
**NegativeZero** (Simon Christensen)  
_dchris1@bigpond.net.au_

-----------------------------------------------------------  
**Part 2:**_Runaway / The Vault_  
-----------------------------------------------------------

The stench of stale vomit, spilt beer and mouldy straw assaulted her nose as she opened the inn's door and stepped into the common room. Wisely, she kept the hood of her forest green cloak down low, concealing her face. Wise for more than one reason - first, it was possible that she might be recognised, although most of the men in the common room were so inebriated that she doubted they could tell her apart from a horse. 

The other, more pertinent reason that she wished to remain nondescript was obvious - this was not the sort of place that any girl (especially one as attractive as herself) would want to enter. As it was she drew a number of eyes, making her uneasy enough to slide a hand to the dagger at her waist. 

The inn was a run-down, seedy, sleazy dump. She knew it would be infested with fleas, rats, spiders, and other assorted vermin. It was the kind of place that you avoided to the point of walking on the other side of the road from it. The patrons were mainly drunkards, street brawlers, and the odd sailor or two - men who would slit her throat for a gold coin. In short, it was perfect - no one would think to search for her here.

That didn't mean she was going to enjoy spending a night here. It was her damned father's fault. He didn't care one bit about his daughter's feelings - she was to go where he told her, and that was that. "You have to learn," he said, "and they are the best." Well, she was _not _going, and that was final. If she had to constantly live under rules set by that cold, uncaring old fool, she'd rather live on her own, out in the world. If her father hadn't been so inflexible, though, then she would never have been forced to resort to this dump.

The girl stalked up to the counter, where the skinny innkeeper was rubbing at a filthy glass with an equally filthy cloth - whether the cloth was making the glass cleaner or dirtier was hard to tell. The girl slammed her leather-gloved fist down on the bench a little harder than necessary, which had the desired effect. The innkeeper turned, fixing her with a sullen glare. "Whatd'ya want?" he mumbled.

"A room," she replied. "Your best," she added. There was no need to make it even harder on herself, after all.

The innkeeper looked her over carefully, from the green cloak and the soft hide gloves to the soft leather travelling gear. "Fifty silver. In advance," he grunted.

"Fifty silver?!" she exclaimed. "Is that extra charge for the fleas or for the rats? Ten silver."

"Aye, that'll get you a pallet in the stable, maybe. I've got mouths to feed too, y'know. Twenty-five silver, in advance."

"I'll give you ten now, and ten in the morning," she replied with a sigh, knowing she was still paying too much. She just couldn't be bothered haggling any further.

"Ye're robbing me blind, girl..." he replied, but stopped as she began to count out the ten silver, one by one, onto the table.  

The girl then added an extra coin to the stack. "Get me a beer, preferably from a keg that doesn't have a dead rat in it."

"What, d'ye think ye're a queen or something?" the innkeeper grumbled, but he got the beer all the same, and from a fresh keg, she noticed. Satisfied, she stalked to a spare table in the back corner of the common room, dodging nimbly about a drunk who decided to vomit at her feet, and delivering a sharp smack across the head of another who tried to paw at her as if she were some serving wench.

She'd been sitting at the table for over five minutes before she noticed that one man was still staring at her. He sat out in the open, easily visible - how long he had been staring at her, she was unsure. Everything about the man exuded a sense of 'casual'. He was leaning back in his chair, a tankard of beer in one hand (which she noticed he was barely sipping at) and a silly grin on his face. The man was obviously not a regular of this inn. He wore battered armour, which appeared to have once been painted black. His hands were bare, but steel-backed leather gauntlets sat upon the table, and a large broadsword in a leather sheath was propped up against the edge of the table. She supposed the man was handsome in a rogue-ish sort of way, with his stubbled chin and long hair drawn back into a ponytail. However there was a sense of danger about him. He seemed like a large cat - stretched out and relaxed at the moment, but a deadly hunter when it suited him.

When he saw her return his gaze, his grin broadened. Saluting with the ale in his hand, he drank a deep draught, took up his sword and gauntlets, and walked out the door. Whether he expected her to follow him, she had no idea. The whole encounter, if you could call it that, was odd in the extreme.

Turning back to her beer, she drank it slowly - it might have been from a fresh keg, but it still tasted bad. She'd been in the common room for a while, and had already turned away three drunken idiots that attempted to 'join her' with a glare (and in one case a kick) she decided to make her way up to her room. She would need to get up early. As she passed the counter, she noticed the innkeeper staring at her with a small, oily grin on his face - she would have to remember to bar her door, or else she might find herself with some unexpected visitors who wished to 'borrow' her purse - or possibly herself.

She entered the room, hearing the sound of a rat scurrying into it's hiding place with a squeak. The girl sighed - it was only for one night, she could bear it. Besides, if she was to live on the road, she'd have to get used to these sorts of conditions. 

Shutting the door behind her, she promptly wedged a nearby wooden chair underneath the door latch. "That should keep them out," she said to herself.

"Yes, that would be the idea," replied a jovial voice from behind her.

With a startled cry, she whirled about, dagger in hand. The sudden motion caused the hood of her cloak to fall back from her head, revealing her long red hair, which seemed to blaze in the dim light that the candles in the room gave out. 

The man from the common room sat in a chair beside the bed, sword beside him and the same stupid grin on his face. "How did you get in here?" She asked with a startled glare.

"Through the door," he replied with an even larger grin.

"Who are you?"  
"And I thought everyone knew who I was. I'm hurt," the grin stayed on his face.

"Don't play games! I could have this dagger in your heart before you could blink!"

His grin softened a little. "I doubt you could. Have you killed a man before? It's a lot harder than you think."

"I want you out of this room," the girl announced.

"Really? That hurts, it does. You are quite cruel, princess."

That last sarcastic line made her freeze solid. "Princess?" she laughed nervously. "I'm no--"

"I know who you are. I'm surprised you don't remember me." the man was quite a bit more serious. "My apologies, I'm being rather discourteous. My name is Kaji. Ryouji Kaji."

"The Dragonslayer? Pull the other one."

"Whether you believe me or not... unfortunately, your father has charged me with your 'rescue'."

"That drunken old bastard. Who are you rescuing me from, besides the fleas?"

"Princess, you shouldn't talk about your father that way!" Kaji responded in mock shock.

"I'll talk about him however I like. I'm not going back home."

The hammering of a steel-plated fist at the door interrupted their conversation. Before long, the sound of a fist was replaced with the sound of a steel-plated shoulder. The makeshift barricade lasted all of three seconds before the chair splintered and the door burst open to admit five armoured soldiers in the uniform of the Kingsguard. The Princess turned to glare at Kaji, but found him to be just as surprised as her.

The commander of the group of soldiers bowed to the girl. "Princess Soryu, please come with us."

-- // --

"Hey! Wait for me!"

The small girl turned to regard the voice. Scanning the crowd, she spotted her quite quickly. "Yuki! Hi!" she said with all the enthusiasm a seven year old could muster. "I thought you had left already!"

The other girl caught up with her. Yuki had long platinum blonde hair which she always wore loose. Her blue eyes sparkled in the dusk light as she finally caught up to her friend. "No, I had clean-up duty." Her nose wrinkled in distaste as she remembered it.

"Oh. Me too!" the girl was shorter than her companion, with short dark brown hair and big brown eyes. Her height was something that people often teased her about, but her brother always told her not to worry about it. "I was short too, and they used to tease me. They stopped about the time I grew bigger than them," he would grin. Many people accused him of being stupid, but she didn't care - she loved her big brother.

"What are you doing tonight?" Yuki asked her, curious.

"Dunno," she replied with a shrug. "I think I'm cooking," she added.

"You always cook, though."

"Do not," she retorted. "Besides, you don't want to taste Touji's cooking."

Yuki's eyes widened at mention of Touji. She had a huge crush on the big, muscular boy, although his sister couldn't tell why. "How is your brother, anyway?" Yuki asked.

"Big and stupid," she replied. "He got in trouble last week for wrestling or something like that."

"I wish I had a cool big brother like you, Mari!"

Mari laughed. "I guess I'm lucky! You wanna come over for a bit?"

Yuki's eyes lit up. "Sure!"

The two seven year old girls continued down the street, not aware of what approached them. Turning the corner into a large plaza, Mari turned to her friend. "There's not too many people here... is something happening tonight that we don't know about?" The blonde girl merely shrugged.

One side of the plaza they now stood in featured a large, ornate fountain. Stone statues carved to look like a group of twelve men and women stood in various poses around the fountain. Mari could recite the name and story of each one. They were the twelve, those who defeated the Shito so many years ago, and who had since founded the twelve great houses.

The great houses were all but gone, now. The Elves of House Ikari still held some level of power, but many of the rest were nothing more than a memory - even the noble house Soryu was dwindling. Mari found it sad, especially in the case of House Soryu - the tale of Dragonheart was one of her favourite stories.

A brilliant white light suddenly split the deepening shades of twilight, causing both girls to jump in surprise. Mari recovered quickly, looking around and instantly pinpointing the source of the light. In the center of the plaza stood two figures, both clad in the white armour of the Templar. One of the men's hands glowed with a pale white radiance, obviously some form of magic. Unable to contain her curiosity, Mari began to creep closer to the pair of figures, pulled forward towards the magical light like a moth to the flame. Stopping outside the radius of the light, Mari quickly hid between two marble statues, staring intently at the two Templar and listening to them chatter.

"What was all that ruckus in the Academy about, anyhow?" one of the two Templar, the one without the magical light, asked. Now that Mari was closer, she could see that the speaker was a woman.

"I'm not sure. I hear Katsuragi's back, though, that might explain it." The other Templar was male, with a strong, confident voice. "Someone probably raided her beer stash while she was away."

His companion chuckled. "Maybe..." she replied.

The first Templar turned briefly to his companion, motioning to her to be quiet. "Hold up there, traveller!" he called into the dark, making Mari's heart leap - had she been seen? 

It was not her, however, that the Templar had spotted. A large, cloaked figure glided into the light, an oddly shaped orange bundle draped over one shoulder. 

The Templar looked the man up and down, with special notice to the bundle on his shoulders. "I suggest you explain what you're doing out here at this time of night, sir," he said to the cloaked figure, one hand moving towards the sword belted at his waist.

The cloaked figure patted the bundle slung over his shoulder, causing it to move slightly with a stifled groan. "Taking this one back to my mistress," he replied cheerfully, then his voice suddenly changed. "Stand aside, _Templar_". He almost spat the word Templar out, pouring scorn and contempt into it. 

The second Templar's eyes widened as the 'bundle' moved slightly, revealing a pale arm. From her angle, she could also see the 'bundle's' shock of pale hair, and recognition dawned. "Ayanami..." she said quietly. 

"Put her down, and I may let you live," the first Templar said quietly, his sword sliding out of his sheath. Mari's heart leapt in excitement - it was like one of her tales come to life. She had barely even noticed when Yuki finally plucked up the courage to sneak over and sit in the shadows beside her friend, so engrossed was she in the rapidly unfolding drama.

Sachiel laughed at the Templar before him as he raised a hand already crackling with magical blue energy.

-- // --

Asuka spent the half hour trek through the streets of Tyr to her father's palace concocting a wide variety of names to call the old fool, the language she used colourful enough to make the surliest stable boy blush. Every gaze directed towards her was returned with a sullen glare, and questions directed towards her received little better than a growl. In short, Princess Asuka Soryu was in a foul mood.

The soldiers of the Kingsguard had been extremely forbearing with the redheaded girl's foul mood, responding with courtesy to every snide remark. Apparently, they had been dispatched directly to the 'Grunting Boar', the inn which Asuka had chosen to hide, barely an hour beforehand.

Kaji, seasoned adventurer that he was, was surprised by the sudden appearance of the King's soldiers. "What are you doing here?"

The guard captain was respectful, but firm. "I might ask you the same thing, Dragonslayer. I'm here on the King's orders, to bring Princess Soryu back to the palace."

"He had asked me to escort her to Tokyo..." Kaji had replied. Asuka had glared at him. An _escort_?!

"Well, I wouldn't know about that. My orders came down from the King, with his seal on it. The orders didn't so much as mention you, ser. If you want to take it up with the king, be my guest, but please don't interfere with our duty."

Kaji just nodded. "I guess I'll accompany you, then."

Then they had left, trudging through mud and half-melted snow outside, up to the palace. As if the muddy slush wasn't enough, it was getting darker and colder by the minute as night approached - the climate was harsh this time of year. Yet another annoyance for Asuka to add to her mental list, which she intended to deliver to her father verbally and at high volume.

Finally, they reached the palace. 'Palace' was really the wrong word for it. It was more of a fortress, comprised of hard black granite with sheer walls over forty feet high. To most outside the city it was known as the Dreadfort, or more commonly Winterholm. It had been erected before the town had sprung up, almost thirteen hundred years before, when the north had been a land dominated by giants, orcs and barbarian hordes. Asuka was certain the townsfolk jokingly referred to the castle as 'the palace' simply because it defied all logic.

Entering the 'palace' through the back door, Asuka was immediately escorted to the throne room. Stepping through the huge, arched doors, she and her escort entered a long, marble columned room with a red carpet trailing down the centre. At the end of the room was a raised dais upon which was a golden throne. Asuka knew that the head of the throne was ivory, carved to appear like a roaring dragon - the dragon of house Soryu. Beneath the hissing ivory reptile was the king - her father.

King Soryu was a tall man, with short blonde hair and clear blue eyes. He spoke with a resonant voice, and was every inch the archetypical king. Asuka hated him. He was always distant and unfeeling towards her, and he had been the same to her mother, whom he had married merely to gain the throne. Erik Soryu had been born Erik Langley, the high seat of one of the most powerful houses in the North. By marrying Asuka's mother, he had gained the right to the throne - the ruler of Aramaelle was always male, and Asuka's mother had been an only child.

Asuka approached the throne, not bothering to bow in the least. She had a number of things to say to the pompous ass on the chair before her. However, he still managed to get the first word in. 

"Welcome home, Asuka. I hope the soldiers weren't too rough?"

She had no choice but to respond. "No. They were fine."

"Excellent," he replied before Asuka could continue. "Guards, you may leave us." He noticed Kaji standing within the cluster of Kingsguard. "Ser Kaji, I shall speak to you later," he added. Kaji bowed and turned, following the guardsmen.

Asuka opened her mouth to speak once more, but was again interrupted. "My Lord, why don't you leave this to me?" spoke a female voice to the left of the dais. Asuka didn't recognise her. 

The newcomer would have drawn every male eye in city had she walked past. She seemed almost ethereal, small and delicate. In height, she was no taller than Asuka, but she was so perfectly proportioned that it was hard to notice. Long blonde hair cascaded down the back of her pearly white silk dress, and sky blue eyes shone in her pale, creamy complected face. 

"Ah, yes," mused the king absently. "Asuka, this is my new advisor, Lady Gemma. She arrived not much after you disappeared."

Asuka didn't like the sound of this. "What happened to Lord Tristran?"

Her father's face darkened. "He is rotting down in the dungeon with Ser Barristan. Traitors."

"Traitors?!" Asuka exclaimed. Lord Tristran had been her father's advisor for years, and old Ser Barristan had been the commander of the Kingsguard since Asuka was a toddler.

"Yes. Traitors both. Had Lady Gemma not revealed the vital evidence, you would be without a father."

'A shame they didn't do a better job', Asuka thought. "I see. Is Ser Florent to take Ser Barristan's place then?"

"No. The corruption may go deeper than Barristan. Lady Gemma's associate, Ser Jorah, will be taking that position."

It was all Asuka could do to nod. Something was seriously wrong here. Florent was one of the most dependable and loyal officers in the Kingsguard.

"My Lord, you look tired. Why don't you let me handle this... your wife waits upstairs in your bedchamber..." Lady Gemma's voice was soothingly hypnotic.

"Yes... I shall do that," the King replied absently, before standing and wandering from the throne room. Asuka could just stare. For all his faults, her father was no weakling; he should have bristled at the command. But now Asuka was alone in the throne room with the woman - or so she thought.

A strong hand landed on her shoulder, holding it in an iron-hard grip. "Hello, Princess," boomed a voice from right behind her. Turning, she came face to face with one of the biggest men she had ever seen.

He was huge, at least seven feet tall, and broad, with thick biceps as large around as an average man's thigh. He wore chain mail, plate gauntlets, and had a strange helmet beneath his arm. The helmet had a long slit for an eye opening, with a second one that split the front of the helm to the chin, forming a 'T'. A large-bladed sword hilt stood up from either of the Man's shoulders. Judging from the size, the swords would take the average warrior two hands to use, but Asuka didn't doubt he could wield one in either hand.

"Who are you?" Asuka asked him.

"I believe my name is Ser Jorah, at the moment..." the man said with a grin. 

"I am surprised, Princess," Lady Gemma said as she approached the red-headed girl. "Somehow you are much more resistant than I had expected."

"Resistant? What have you done to my father, Sorceress?" Asuka glared at her.

"Sorceress?" Gemma replied with a chuckle. "I'm no sorceress, child. I'm much more than some conjurer of cheap tricks. Your father is fine. He just has a weak mind."

"I know that, he's an idiot. Who are you, and what do you want?"

"Princess... we want you. Or rather, we want something only you can give us."

"Not a chance." Asuka bristled at the woman's supercilious tone. "You're not getting any help from me – I'll die first."

"You'll find I can be quite persuasive."

Jorah spoke up then. "There is no honour in torturing children."

"There you go with your honour again. I sometimes wonder why you bother," Gemma replied, rolling her eyes. "Zeruel, you were placed under my command. Whether or not you agree, you _will_ do as I command. Hold her."

Asuka's eyes widened as the name sank in. As a royal princess, she had been given a thorough education. She recognised his name almost instantly. She felt her heart beating faster out of fear, and was just about to run when the big man grabbed her arm. "Child, I have no wish to see you broken. Do what we ask," Zeruel whispered in her ear.

Her response was almost instant. She spun, fist whistling out, striking the man in the jaw. He barely blinked. Asuka, however, found herself nursing a badly bruised hand.

"You have a strong punch, girl," Zeruel said with a smile. "I'd advise against doing that again."

Gemma approached slowly, a small, cold smile on her perfect  face. "Do you know who we are, girl?"

Asuka glared at the approaching woman, her free hand clenched into a fist. "He is Zeruel... you are... Iroel?"

"Arael," she corrected, her smile widening slightly. She placed her hand upon Asuka's head, and the red-headed girl was instantly unconscious.

-- // --

"To think that the Templar have fallen this far while I slept," Sachiel mused, looking down into the glazed eyes staring up at him from the still smoking corpse. The two Templar had been dead within the blink of an eye, too fast for the Shito to gain any real enjoyment out of the fight - if you could call it a fight.

Looking around, he took in the Plaza quickly, his vision magically enhanced to view the darkened area as if it were day, despite the fact that by killing the two Templar had caused their magical light to disappear. He noticed the two figures - children, obviously - huddled within the cluster of statues nearby, but thought nothing of it. They were no threat, and for all his ruthlessness, Sachiel gained no real enjoyment out of slaughtering children. They could wait for later.

"This seems to be as good a spot as any," the Shito said to his captive quietly before throwing her to the ground nearby. Rei moaned in pain as she hit the ground, but didn't move from the position she'd landed in. The moon came out from behind the clouds where it had been hiding, bathing the area in it's pale radiance.

Rei Ayanami was still unconscious, her arm bent at an angle that arms were definitely not supposed to bend. It was obviously quite badly broken. The Shito started at her for a moment, then took a flask from his belt. Mari noticed that he moved as if the motion pained him slightly, as if from a wound not completely healed. Sachiel took a long swallow from the flask before bending down and cradling his captive's head firmly, dribbling some of the liquid from the flask into her mouth and convincing her to swallow.

The effect was instant. With a strangled cough, Rei's eyes opened and she looked about groggily, gagging from the liquid she had just swallowed. "Good, no? It's Firewine - dulls pain, and burns like a furnace. It leaves the mind quite foggy, though, unless you've built up a resistance to it. That vintage is about three thousand years old... it's aged very well," the Shito laughed quietly, his voice jovial and almost conversational.

"What do you intend to do with me?" Rei asked quietly, without a trace of fear in her voice.

"That depends. If the boy doesn't show up, then I'll take you to my Mistress. If he does, I'll take you both. Do you think he'll come, elf?"

"I am not Elven," she corrected quietly, before replying. "He will come."

"Not Elven?" he replied questioningly. "You look it. I do hope he comes, girl... I made a deal with him before we left, you see, and I wish to know whether he actually expects me to honour it."

-- // --  

Asuka had no way of telling how much time had passed when she awoke. She found herself in a small, dark, stone-walled room. Judging from the dim light, the stale, damp air and the subconscious feeling of pressure forcing down upon her, she was in the lower levels of the Fortress, probably the dungeons. Brilliant - the Fortress Dungeons were an absolute maze, deliberately created to make it harder for any prisoners to escape. It also meant that she was alone.

Standing up, Asuka made a quick analysis of her current state. She was still wearing her soft leathers and green cloak. They'd taken her dagger, naturally, but that didn't matter too much. Asuka had been trained from a young age in both armed and unarmed combat. Her father had explained that it was necessary for her to learn to defend herself - there would be times when she had to rely upon herself, not her guards. While Asuka disliked her father, she could see the sense in this, and at the moment Asuka was glad for the training.

Moving over to the door, she checked it carefully. Placing her hand on it, she pushed slightly. To her surprise, the door slowly swung open, the screech of the rusted iron hinges echoing down the corridor and making Asuka cringe. 'Odd,' she thought. 

'Why wasn't it locked?'

Stepping out into the corridor, Asuka was unprepared for the sight that awaited her. The floor was slick with blood. A large bloody smear was visible on the opposite wall to the door to her cell, at the base of which was what once had been one of the Kingsguard. He was dead, and looked as though something had torn into him. It looked to be the work of some wild beast.

Overcoming her squeamishness, Asuka approached the dead man and looked carefully at him. She did not recognise him, but that was probably for the best. Nodding slightly towards the man in respect, she quickly searched him for anything of use. He had nothing but a broken dagger on him, but Asuka's quick eyes spotted his sabre several feet away from his outstretched hand - the force of being thrown to the wall had obviously caused him to lose his grip on the weapon. 

Asuka had no idea whether to turn right or left to get out of the mazelike corridors. Having a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right, she opted to turn left.

Asuka came upon several more dead bodies as she went. All of them had been rent and mauled, and all were trained soldiers. Whatever it was that stalked the corridors, it was deadly. 

Asuka wandered for nearly half an hour in the maze before she found the stairs to the upper levels. Normally, it would have taken hours to find if she could have found it at all, but this time she had a guide - she just followed the mutilated guardsmen. 

Asuka was halfway up the stairs when she saw it. It was huge, a hulking great mass of black fur and muscle. It stood at the top of the stairway, glaring down at her, long streams of bloody drool dripping from its fanged mouth. It's eyes glowed a sullen red, like hot coals. When it saw Asuka, the eyes narrowed slightly with malevolent desire. Asuka stepped back in fright, not recognising the beast's species, but easily feeling the vicious hate it directed at her. 

For such a huge beast, the thing moved with uncanny speed, leaping down the steps towards the girl with frightening agility. She barely had time to dodge as a huge, clawed paw flew towards her. Asuka dived to the side, narrowly avoiding the blow. She was not so lucky with the second. The beast's other gigantic paw thundered into her, knocking her from her feet, the claws opening three long gashes across her shoulder.

Asuka groaned in pain as she hit the floor, winded. She could do nothing to avoid the monster as it placed it's heavy paw on her chest, pinning her. It leant down close to the wounded redhead, it's maw close enough that Asuka could smell it's fetid breath. It stank of blood and rotten meat.

The beast moved slightly closer before opening its mouth slightly and speaking. Its voice was punctuated with growling and snarls, but Asuka could make out the words within. "Scream for me, little one." 

Asuka glared up at the gigantic figure. 

Presently, the beast tired of it's sport. It's maw opened wider this time, revealing pointed fangs. With a gurgling snarl, it moved in for the kill. Asuka closed her eyes, not wanting to look as it tore her apart.

Suddenly, the weight pinning the girl to the ground shifted, the Grendel roaring in pain. A gush of warm, sticky liquid fell on her face. Asuka could smell it - blood. The beast's paw was suddenly gone from her chest as it roared again, turning away from the redhead to confront the new threat.

Two figures stood there. One was a woman, with a long, golden staff that matched the gold of her hair. Bright blue eyes stared at the great black monster before her, her mouth twisted in distaste. Bright light radiated from the top of the woman's staff. But it was not the woman who held Asuka's attention.

The other figure was nearly seven feet tall. Armoured in green and white, he looked like something out of a song or children's tale. Upon his green surcoat was embroidered a white wolf, and within his huge hands were two gigantic blades. He wore no helmet, his short brown hair and fierce blue eyes glinting in the light shed by his companion's staff.

Stepping forward, the armoured man threw himself at the monster, swinging his titanic blades in two shining silver arcs. The wounded black beast barely had time to growl before the blades sank into it, one lopping off the monster's right arm, the other beheading it in a clean sweep.

Wiping his blades off on the dead beast's fur, the armoured figure looked down at the stunned princess. "Princess. When we saw you struggling with that monster, I feared we came too late."

Asuka pulled herself to her feet, wincing slightly at the pain from the gashes on her back caused by the beast's claws. She was annoyed at herself for getting into such a predicament. "You took your time showing up!" she announced before she could stop herself, then the manners that had been drummed into her for so many years quickly took over. "I thank you for that timely intervention, Ser." Asuka looked down at the beast. "What was that? I've never seen anything like it."

"A Grendel. Ancient, evil creatures - they say that the Shito made them during the War of the Ancients to form part of their dark army. I'd thought them dead and gone hundreds of years ago." 

"A... Grendel? How did it get into the fortress?"

"It is not known, Princess. They are everywhere - over fifty of them," replied the woman, moving closer to Asuka and glancing at the wounds on her back. "Let me look at that - I'd hate to have you die from blood poisoning. These beast's claws can often cause infections."

Before Asuka could say anything, the woman placed her hand on the cuts. Her hand was cool, and Asuka gasped slightly as the cold radiated out of her hand, only to suddenly become an intense heat. Then it was gone. 

"I have healed the wounds. They will not trouble you," the woman said. Asuka sent an annoyed glare at her - if she had wanted help, she would have asked for it.

"Who are you?" Asuka asked them. Something about them was familiar, but Asuka couldn't place it. She was certain it was important, but whenever Asuka tried to remember, her memory became indistinct and foggy. She couldn't even remember what she was doing down in the dungeons in the first place.

The man smiled at her. "Our names are not important, but you may call me Barask. She is Dweore. Our master, Lord Kharalkuur of the Northern Reaches, sent us here, bearing grievous news. The Shito are free! We had hoped to get here ahead of their armies and deliver the warning, but it seems we are too late. This fortress cannot hope to stand against a large band of Grendel, let alone the might of the Shito."

Asuka's eyes had opened wide. "The Shito free?" Something tugged at her mind, but she couldn't place it.

Dweore looked across at her. "Princess... our Master had hoped that house Soryu still had the ability to open the Vault."

Asuka looked away. "I can't," she replied angrily. "Only one of the Soryu line could open it. I am the last, but I can't open the seal - the Keystone was lost after my Mother died."

Barask stared at her intently. "What does this key look like, do you know?"

Asuka could remember the few times her mother had let her touch the keystone. "It's an amulet. A large, blood red gem set in gold. If you look into the gem, there's an image of a White Dragon inside."

Barask and Dweore shared a quick glance. "Your father had that Amulet when we last saw him."

Asuka's face darkened. "He did? Why that thieving bastard! That amulet is supposed to be _mine_! It belongs to the one with the purest Soryu blood, and he doesn't even have a drop!"

Barask nodded. "Will you open the Vault, then, if you can get the Keystone?"

Asuka nodded. "I have to. Without those weapons, the entire city will be slaughtered."

Had Asuka been looking at Dweore, she would have seen the woman grin. 

-- // --

"Let's go!" Yuki whispered fiercely, her eyes reflecting the fear that she felt.

"What? Why?" Mari whispered in reply, excited. This was getting serious now, but Mari had no doubt that some hero would arrive and defeat the cloaked man. That was what happened in all the stories, after all. 

Sachiel, meanwhile, had stopped making idle conversation with his captive. He could feel something approaching, and knew who it must be. "It appears you were right, girl."

Rei inclined her head slightly, looking off into the darkness, her eyes fixed on a point too distant for even her eyes to truly make out. She could feel him coming too. Slowly, a figure appeared in the dim light, carefully moving towards the Shito and his captive. 

The Shito also noticed the figure's approach. Standing up from the bench upon which he had been lounging, the Shito moved into the figure's path. "So you came, boy. I must say I'm slightly surprised."

Shinji ignored the Shito, his eyes, the only part of his face visible beneath his purple helmet, moving instantly to the girl he had come to rescue. Rei was sitting quietly nearby, carefully placing herself in such a way as not to aggravate her badly broken arm. Her face was even more pale than it had been when he had first met her - most likely from the pain that she must be feeling.

'You should not have come.' Rei's voice echoed in Shinji's mind again, as it had in their previous meeting. 'He means to take both of us.'

Shinji nodded, not completely surprised. "I came, like you said," he said to the Shito quietly. "Let her go."

Sachiel laughed as the moon went back behind the clouds, the entire area darkening once again. "You didn't seriously believe I would honor those words, did you? I couldn't take you from within the Templar academy - there are wards there which are far more powerful than the Templar could even dream of casting today." He looked the armor-clad boy before him up and down, noting the sword belted at the boy's side. "Are you going to fight me, then, or just give in to inevitability?"

Shinji didn't reply with words. Instead, his hand went to the sword hilt at his waist, drawing it in one smooth motion. The sword felt alive in his hands, as if it had a mind of its own directing his movements. It was light, much more so than the blade he had practiced with on the road to Tokyo with Misato. Moving his feet into a more solid combat stance, Shinji held the Evangelion's Blade infront of his body as he had been taught, his eyes fixed on the cloaked figure before him. The world seemed to pause, as if the entire universe were fixed on the one motion, the one single barely perceptible moment when the strike would come. The moment was tense enough that it was almost possible to feel it, like the air had suddenly become thick as mud. 

The wind blew around the trio, blowing through the plaza with a gentle sigh, causing the Shito's ragged cloak to billow out to the side, revealing the cracked and charred armour beneath, while Shinji's own blue cape moved in a similar fashion. As the wind died, the moon came out again from it's hiding place, bathing the scene once again  in its pale glow, shining off the polished steel in Shinji's hands, and reflecting from his dark blue eyes in a way that made them almost seem to glow. 

-- // --

The journey from the lower levels of Winterholm was surprisingly uneventful. Asuka and her two odd companions came across many more dead guardsmen, and at one point even stumbled across the dead bulk of a Grendel. It had taken many guards with it, as was made evident by the pile of dead men surrounding it - only a skilled fighter would have had a chance. 

As they neared the entrance to the throne room, Asuka found herself becoming more and more apprehensive. The trail of blood and death stretched before them, and so far, aside from her two companions, Asuka had yet to come across another living human. The carnage was at least an hour old, Asuka judged as surveyed the scene. Her lack of experience with corpses and death made it hard for her to tell much beyond that.

The huge iron-bound doors to the throne room stood ajar, the bloody corpses of the guardsmen who usually held these doors were strewn about like rag dolls thrown around by a child in the midst of a tantrum. One of the guardsmen was still alive - barely. Asuka was moving past him when she heard the guard groan. Sinking to her knees beside the dying man, she looked into his slowly glazing eyes.

"Princess..." he croaked. "Too many... too... couldn't hold... must open... the vault." His body went slack in her hands as he died, a soft sigh escaping his body.

Asuka growled in annoyance as she let the dead guardsman fall. Standing, she entered the throne room, already knowing what she would see, but dreading it all the same.

The throne room had become little more than a charnel house, the bodies of most of her father's court strewn about. Another dead Grendel was lying near the throne, the broken end of a sword jutting out from it's back. Asuka knew that sword well - it had a gold hilt made to look like a Lion, it's head the pommel. The Lion of house Langley. The sword had belonged to her father - he would not have left it, even broken.

Rushing over to the gigantic black mass, she hauled it back, rolling it onto its side. It had been dead a long time - already rigor mortis was setting in. Below, her father's lifeless form lay in a pool of blood - both his own and the Grendel he had slain. Her father had been an excellent swordsman, if a lousy father. 

Despite her dislike for the man, Asuka felt a pang of sadness. 'No time for that,' she thought. Carefully parting the dead man's robes, she found what she was looking for - the amulet was around her neck in short order.

Drawing a deep breath, she laid her hand on her father's for a second, then stood. Turning, she faced her two strange companions. "We will open the vault, and take what can be carried. Then I will seal it up against intrusion. I think we should probably go to Tokyo." 

Barask looked at her. "Tokyo? That is a long trek, your highness. Wouldn't it be better to make for Mythilos? Or perhaps Tir-Tairell?"

"The Elves? What makes you think they'd get their pointy ears involved in 'human business'? No, we go to the Templar in Tokyo." Asuka had dealt with the elves before, several times groups of them had come up to talk to her father. She had an intense dislike of them, with their condescending, arrogant manner.

That settled, they made their way to the Vault. The Vault had been here long before the fortress had been built, and had been incorporated into the design, becoming Winterholm's heart. In fact, the Castle's original purpose was to keep the contents of the vault safe. Whatever was in there, Asuka knew it would be powerful. 

The vault itself was not much to look at: a simple stone archway over a red steel door, the center of which was emblazoned with a raging white dragon - house Soryu's sigil. The eye of the dragon was empty, indented as if something was missing.

Asuka pulled out the amulet. Carefully she removed the gem from it's golden webbing as her mother had once shown her. Lifting the red gem, she placed it in the empty eye socket, where it stuck firmly with a loud click. 

Red light radiated from the gem as Asuka removed her hand. The light bathed everything, swirling and shifting like a thick mist. Striding out of the mist, a huge white figure appeared. Lowering it's magnificent white head, the figure regarded the Princess and her two companions. The dragon's huge red orbs seemed strangely wise and noble. 

"You called me, summoner?" it boomed.

"I am Asuka of House Soryu," Asuka intoned. 

"Indeed. You honor me with this summons, Princess." The dragon blinked. "How may I serve?"

"Open the vault."

"As you wish, Mistress." The Dragon seemed to melt, turning into a brilliant white mist that quickly disappated. The red light of the keystone faded to nothing, and the Vault doors slid open silently. Asuka strode inside, surprised at how easy the summoning had been - her mother had said it took great force of will to command the Guardian, but it had deferred to her almost instantly.

Asuka barely had time to take in the vast interior of the vault before she heard the mocking laughter behind her.

"Thank you, Princess," whispered a voice in her ear. Whirling, she found herself face to face with Dweore. "The contents of this vault will be most useful to our Mistress," she said with a cold smile.

Asuka gasped. Suddenly, memory flooded back to her. The Shito! These were no messengers before her... and she had delivered the contents of the Vault to them. How could she have been so blind? Asuka's face darkened in anger as she whirled to face her erstwhile companions, her hands balled into fists.

"You see, Princess? In the end, I always get what I want." The world seemed to shift oddly, as if the room had been filled with smoke. The sensation disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving in its wake a feeling of intense lethargy. Asuka looked around, suddenly tired, and noticed that both her companions had changed - 'Barask' was gone, and in his place stood the heavily armoured form of Ser Jorah - Zeruel. Beside him stood Arael, once again in her 'Lady Gemma' disguise.

"The princess appears to be tired, Ser Jorah," Arael said to her companion with a cold smile. "Take her up to her chambers, and see to it that she isn't disturbed until I have decided what to do with her."

Before Asuka could even snap off her angered retort, sleep overcame her. Asuka's world went black as she slumped into Zeruel's metal-clad arms.

-- // -- 

Sachiel leapt into motion, whipping out his long-bladed dagger and darting towards his surprised opponent, dagger leading the way. Shinji barely had time to flinch before the Shito was upon him, dagger speeding towards his throat in a quick downwards slash.

At the last instant, Shinji managed to move his body back, moving his sword up to catch the dagger on his blade's crosspiece. His opponent expected this, though, and was already moving in response. Shinji gasped in shock as the Shito's other fist drove into his face, sending him sprawling with its power. 

Shinji shook his head slightly, seeing stars. He recovered just in time to parry another thrust, this time achieving the block a lot cleaner as her remembered Misato's careful instruction. Having easily turned aside the dagger, he suspected it to be a feint, and was proven right when the Shito's leg swept around, attempting to trip him. The young warrior leapt backwards out of the way with a grunt, quickly bringing his sword back up into a defensive position.

Sachiel didn't follow and press his considerable advantage. Instead, he stepped back, his dagger hand falling to his side in contempt. "You make this too easy, boy. This fight is beyond you. Yield to me, and I may let you live."

Shinji just glared in response, setting his feet, then launched himself against his cloaked opponent, his katana leading the way in a powerful thrust towards the Shito's chest.

Sachiel slapped the blade away contemptuously with his dagger hand, responding with a kick that struck Shinji squarely in the stomach, driving his breath from his lungs with a gasp. Still moving, the Shito spun, his outstretched fist catching a stunned Shinji on the side of the head, sending him spinning to the ground. The young warrior, still barely able to move from lack of breath, managed to roll away just in time to avoid taking the Shito's dagger in the face.

Shinji rolled away, coming up on one knee, panting and rubbing the side of his face. He spat out a bloody, broken tooth to the side, before rising once again into a defensive position, his eyes clearly showing his fear. He knew he had no chance against the Shito - the cloaked man was too fast, too powerful, and too skilled. His opponent was toying with him, barely using any of his true power.

The Shito laughed slightly as he waited for his opponent to make the first move. Shinji was quick to oblige. Approaching carefully, his sword in that same defensive stance, he began to circle the apparently unconcerned Shito, who followed his every move, searching for an opening.

The Shito feinted left, causing his opponent to move his sword off-center to parry. Quickly, Sachiel stepped right and in, grabbing Shinji's off-side sword arm and pushing it to the side while his dagger slashed in at the boy's face. Somehow Shinji avoided the blow, shifting in such a way that the dagger passed by harmlessly.

Sachiel was far from finished, though. The hand gripping Shinji's forearm flexed powerfully as the Shito twisted, and with an audible crunch, the boy's arm was broken, his sword falling from suddenly unresponsive fingers. Shinji let out a cry of pain, slumping as if he would have fallen to his knees had his opponent not been holding his arm. 

Sachiel laughed contemptuously as he flung his broken opponent to the ground, his leather-armoured foot coming down firmly on his opponent's chest, pinning him. "So it ends, boy!" he hissed as he raised his free hand, which crackled with blue-white eldritch energies.

Shinji's eyes widened in fear and pain as he realised that he had failed.

-- // --

Sleep did not come to Asuka again that night. Once the enchantment placed upon her had worn off, she had awoken again. Given the current state of darkness outside her window, it had been about six hours since the guards had brought her and Kaji into the fortress. 

Asuka lay in her bed, beneath the silken sheets, pretending to sleep - if _they_ came back, she did not want them to catch her asleep. She had realised by that stage how Arael had done what she did - it had been subconscious, in Asuka's mind directly. To sleep was to expose herself to the same treatment again. Asuka could remember the pain she had felt - her body still had an odd, dull ache as if the wounds that had been inflicted upon her were at the point where they were almost healed, but still there. 

Asuka lay in the dark, too apprehensive to sleep, but too tired to stay awake. She estimated she had been awake for about two hours when she heard voices outside her door - a guard, and someone else. Perhaps it was a guard change? Straining to hear, she was able to make out most of the conversation.

"...my lord, I can't let you in," said one voice. It was slightly louder, so Asuka assumed it to be a guard.

"I need to talk to... father, the king... me." The other voice was muffled, to the point that some words were indistinguishable, but somehow it seemed familiar.

"The king, eh? Anyone other ... you, and I wouldn't believe..." said the guard. "She's asleep, careful waking... up. She has a vile..."

"My thanks," said the second voice as he opened the door, spilling the bright light from the corridor into the dark bedroom. Lined by the light, and with her squinting through partially closed eyelids, Asuka couldn't tell who her visitor was.

He stopped beside her bed, hesitating as if not certain he should wake her. Asuka concentrated on keeping her breath regular and her body still. Finally, he moved again. With her eyes closed, Asuka could hear him approach, but not see him, so it was a surprise to her when she felt a finger gently trace her cheek, down to her chin. 

"Such an innocent face..." the unknown man murmured. His voice was familiar, but Asuka couldn't manage to place him. Raising his voice slightly, he placed a hand on her bare shoulder and shook gently. "Princess..."

Asuka opened her eyes, recognising the broad, roguish grin and stubbled chin before her almost immediately. "Kaji?"

He grinned again. "You remembered me this time!" he said, his eyes twinkling. 

"Why are--" 

"Why am I here?" he interrupted. "I know what happened... I had suspicions when the guards informed me that Ser Barristan and Lord Tristran had been suddenly accused of treason."

"They tricked me... I opened the vault." Asuka said quietly.      

Kaji's grin softened. "I know. It's not your fault."

Asuka was suddenly angry. "I'll kill them both!"

"I don't doubt you will, eventually. But not yet."

Asuka glared at him, but in her heart she knew he was right. She wouldn't stand a chance against them at the moment.

"Your father wanted you to train with the Templar..." Kaji began.

Asuka saw where he was going almost instantly. As much as she hated it, she knew she had to be out of her Father's Fortress - no, the _Shito_'s fortress - as soon as she possibly could.

"I was asked to escort you there, just before you ran away," Kaji said. "I was a Templar once myself - I could begin teaching you as we travel."

Asuka nodded. "The old fool told me he was sending me to the Templar Academy, and that I had no choice in the matter. That was why I ran away. Anyway, it seems that I don't really have a choice. At the least, the Templar Academy would be a safe place to hide for a while."

Kaji grinned again. "Good," he said as he pulled out a sack. "You might want these - we leave now, or we don't leave at all, and you are not coming along dressed like _that_."

It was then that Asuka realised how little she was wearing. With a slight flush and a venomous glare, she ordered the ex-Templar to turn around while she changed. To her relief, he complied, but not before shooting her the insolent grin that he was so good at. 

Once Asuka was clad once again in her red leathers and green cloak, Kaji slipped out the door to deal with the guard. There was an audible 'thump' followed by Kaji's murmured apology to the man he had just knocked unconscious. They were halfway down the corridor when a thought occurred to Asuka, causing her to stop for a second.

Kaji eyed her curiously. "What is it?"

"I need to do something before we leave."

-- // -- 

Sachiel stood over his fallen opponent, a foot on the boy's chest, holding in his hand a crackling dose of electrical death. Shinji closed his eyes, knowing what was to come - blinding pain, then nothing. Nothing but death. 

'Shinji!' a voice cried in his mind. Opening his eyes, Shinji looked up as he felt the Shito shift slightly above him. Sachiel grunted as an unexpected blow connected with his outstretched arm, a dagger held in an orange-gloved hand cut cleanly through the armour, leaving a deep wound and disrupting the spell that the Shito had intended to use to end this fight. 

"Rei!" Shinji exclaimed, recognising the girl, who, despite the pain of her badly broken arm, and the effects of the Shito's firewine, had managed to force herself up and drive her dagger into the Shito. Her eyes seemed to glow a dull red in the moonlight, reflecting her calm intensity.

The Shito snarled as he whirled around, his dagger whipping out and plunging into the young girl's side, easily piercing the armour and opening a long, deep gash as she cried out in pain. Rei began to slump, forward, her dagger clattering to the ground as her hand went to the gushing wound. The Shito reached out, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her from her feet. He glared at her, placing his dagger at her throat, right above her jugular. 

The boy had managed to get up to one knee, but could not move any further. He was transfixed by the sight before him, of the pale girl in his opponent's grasp, held up in the air. He could not say anything, could not do anything, could only stare as blood began to soak the ground beneath the wounded girl as it poured from her side around her weakening fingers.

Suddenly, Shinji was angry. Angry at himself for getting into this predicament, angry at Rei for endangering herself for him, but most of all, angry at the cloaked Shito, at his constant desire for blood. He became more and more angry, his right hand bunching into a fist despite the pain from his broken bones. 

'I can do it,' a voice spoke in his head. 'Let me out. Let me fight him. Give me control...' 

'Who?...' Shinji thought, startled.

'Let me out! It's the only way! Open your mind, or she will die.'

Shinji couldn't say how he did it, but something within him seemed to snap, as if a door within himself that had been locked had been suddenly, violently battered down. Power coursed through his body, like a flow of fire, a stream of coldest ice... it flowed around him, and through him, flowing into him from everywhere as it began to build up. Shinji found his senses suddenly enhanced, as if before he had only been half alive. The feeling was exhilarating, despite its intensity. 

The young warrior was not aware of commanding his body to move, indeed, it seemed that it was moving independently of his own commands. Clenching the fist of his broken arm, Shinji felt the power course along the shattered marrow, mending bone and tissue with frightening speed. The break was almost instantly repaired, and Shinji quickly picked up his blade, again moving without command as he stood. He came to his feet and glared at the cloaked figure, who was turning to look at the opponent he thought defeated, stunned at the feeling of power suddenly emanating from the boy.

Shinji's eyes glowed with a red fire, as if twin furnaces had replaced his eyes. "Shito! Put her down, or I shall kill you where you stand," he felt himself say, his voice resonating with power. 

The stunned Shito threw the pale girl to the side with a snarl, suddenly unsure of himself. Stepping back, his hand glowed briefly before his opponent was surrounded by a sudden conflagration of magical power.

Contemptuously, Shinji waved his hand at the intense magical flames, dismissing them before they had a chance to even singe his cape. He felt his shoulders bunch slightly as he prepared to attack, sinking into a crouch as a low, powerful growl escaped his lips. 

Darting forward, Shinji leapt into the air, his katana falling powerfully towards the Shito, who had to leap back to avoid being cloven neatly in two. Thinking to take his opponent off-balance, the Shito sped in, his dagger slashing down.

Shinji twisted his hand, thrusting the hilt of his blade up and catching the descending dagger with a powerful jolt, causing the slim blade to shatter. He rose quickly, slashing out with a powerful blow, aiming at the Shito's chest. Whirling, Sachiel avoided the blow, ducking out of the path of the boy's blade. But Shinji had expected this move, and, his body still moving of its own accord, he whirled, driving the fist of his off-arm squarely into Sachiel, causing the Shito to be thrown backwards violently into a nearby statue, which promptly shattered and fell.

Groggily, the Shito came up, his hand moving just in time to deflect the thrust aimed at his heart. The boy's other hand came across in a vicious grab, easily taking the Shito's arm in it, power flowing down through Shinji's limb. With a twist and a powerful squeeze, Shinji shattered the Shito's arm, eliciting a howl of pain. Twisting, Shinji kicked the Shito in the chest, sending him flying into a nearby building with a loud crash. Sachiel slid down the side of the wall, leaving behind a bloody smear.

Shinji lifted his hand, moving it in a gentle lobbing gesture as he threw a small orange ball of energy towards the building where the Shito was slumped, stunned. The young warrior misthrew, though, and rather than taking his opponent cleanly in the chest as his body had intended, the ball entered the building. 

The world went white as the fireball detonated, easily collapsing the building and raining huge chunks of debris across the plaza. Sachiel had taken a large amount of the blast, but he still managed to force himself to his feet as Shinji charged in to deliver the final blow. Sachiel stepped back, avoiding the slash which would have cut him in two. With a triumphant yell, he threw something towards his opponent - a fireball, returning in kind the spell that Shinji had just dealt him.

The plaza once again was lit up by the light of a magical detonation. Rei could only watch as fires leapt around the buildings nearby, radiating out from the blast, debris raining out all around. Then the flames cleared, and Rei could make out Shinji, lit up by the conflagration behind him, sword thrust cleanly through the slumping Shito's heart. As Rei watched, the young warrior slid the blade back out of his opponent, who fell back with a sigh, dead.

With the practiced moves of a seasoned, powerful warrior, Shinji cleaned his blade on the fallen Shito's cloak before sheathing it and striding from the flames towards her.

-- // --

To Asuka's relief, her two Shito captors were nowhere to be seen. The Vault was no longer sealed - they must have removed the seal completely after Asuka had been tricked into opening it. Stepping through the open door, Asuka entered the large circular room beyond with no small amount of trepidation. As she remembered, the room was lined with shelves. There were several racks of weapons scattered through the room - Kaji made a beeline to the closest rack and began inspecting a longsword - but the real reason for Asuka's detour was in the centre of the room.

On a steel rack was a suit of armour. It was red, with a full breastplate, greaves, boots, bracers, gauntlets, and a helmet. A long red cape flowed out from the shoulder armouring. The helmet was intricate, shaped to appear like the head of a dragon. If she were to put it on, it would appear as if her face was staring out of the dragon's mouth, it's long snout forming a visor, and it's lower jaw protecting her own throat and jaw. The entire suit had been made up to resemble a dragon - the breastplate was segmented, the forearm bracers ended in a sharp spine which would both protect her elbow and make unarmed blows with that elbow quite deadly. The greaves were spiked at the knee as well.

Asuka recognised the armour now - it was the Dragon Armour, a house Soryu heirloom. The Ancients, many thousands of years before, had forged it for her ancestor, who was now only known as Dragonheart. It had been created for the express purpose of fighting and defeating the Shito. 

Oddly, the suit seemed to call to her. From the looks of it, it would never fit - but it seemed so familiar to her, as if from a dream that she could barely recall. She could not leave as powerful an artifact as this in the hands of the Shito. She would take it with her.

Kaji looked over at that point. His eyes widened as he saw Asuka's gloved hand move towards the shiny red metal. "NO! Don't touch it!"

It was too late. Asuka's hand fell upon the helmet.

-- // -- 

Suddenly, Shinji was in control of his body again. The power that had filled him was gone in an instant, leaving him feeling empty and tired, as if he had worked at the village mill for the entire day. 

He passed a shaky hand over his face, stopping to stare at it - that arm had been broken just minutes before. Looking around the ruined, debris-ridden plaza, not noticing the concerned Citizens who were beginning to appear, attracted by the two thunderous explosions and the now dying blazes they had created. His eyes fell upon Rei, who was lying on the ground, one pale hand clasped to her side, blood slowly seeping through her fingers.

Running over, he gathered her into his arms, placing his hand atop her own in an attempt to help stem the blood flow. Rei whimpered slightly in pain. Looking up into his eyes, she spoke. "I knew you would come," she whispered, before lapsing back into unconsciousness.

"Rei!" Shinji cried, suddenly afraid that it had all been for nothing at all. 

"Shinji!" cried a familiar voice from behind. The armour-clad boy was suddenly surrounded by Templar, two of which, both clad in pure white armour and white cloaks, moved in, taking Rei from his hands as they moved her to their companions, already tending to the wound in the girl's side. 

Seeing Shinji's concern, Misato smiled at him. "She'll be alright." Her smile widened as the boy stood slowly. "You did it, I knew you could."

Shinji could only stare at the stretcher bearing the pale girl away. "I did it... but... I don't feel good about it." He turned to look at Misato. "I'd never thought I'd have to kill anyone..."

Misato suddenly looked seriously. "Shinji, there are times when you must do things you never wanted to do. It's never easy. As long as you don't like to kill, you'll manage."  She looked at him carefully. "If you ever do find yourself enjoying it, that is when you need to throw that sword away."

Shinji nodded weakly, not seeming to listen.

Misato smiled again. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up, and find you some food, and a place to sleep. You look as though you could do with both."

Shinji barely heard her, he just fell into step beside the Templar, placing one foot infront of the next as he followed her in the direction of the Templar academy.

No one noticed the slender, childlike hand of Mari Suzuhara sticking out from beneath a pile of fallen rubble. 

To be continued...

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Author's Notes  
-----------------------------------------------------------

Phew, it's been a while since part one, ne? I'm slow as anything. I have a few excuses though. I've been working on a little project code-named 'the death star' (EFO, http://www.evafics.org), as well as doing the technical stuff behind this year's takoball awards. Also, the Canadian World Domination System (Neverwinter Nights) was a big time-waster, as was the latest visit to Lorderon (Warcraft 3... for some reason, I find Tyrande extremely attractive... O.o)

Big thankee to mah prereaders, Alnilam, Weltall and Joedoebell, as well as anyone who dropped a review my way on FFN, Darkscribes, or directly via email. It's really appreciated.

Okay, some info. Arael and Zeruel's aliases in the 'Dream' sequence which they used to trick Asuka are a reference to an old RPG setting / game I used to play (and create scenarios for) for the Macintosh, called Realmz. It's still alive and kicking, as far as I know, even to the extent of having a small corner of FFN. Dweore and Barask are both gods in the 'Sword Lands', the setting used for two (as of this writing, the final instalment of that trilogy is still not to my knowledge finished, although I believe it's entered beta) of the best of the Realmz Scenarios. Dweore is the goddess of enchantments, while Barask is the god of war. Appropriate, I thought, and since I racked my brains coming up with names, I thought these were as good as any, especially since they also allow me to give props to Psion over in the Realmz section of FFN (Psion created the Sword Lands setting). 

The twelve houses: Thus far, the twelve include House Langley (Sigil: Golden Lion on black), House Soryu (Sigil: White Dragon on Red), the Elven house Ikari (Sigil: Grey Wolf on blue), and house Rokubungi (Sigil: Six ships on a field of blue). There are more coming.

On the choice of a white dragon as house Soryu's sigil... One of the Kanji which translates as 'Soryu' (NOT the one used in Asuka's name, however, but I don't care) means 'Pale Dragon'. It's no stretch to make that 'white dragon'. Besides which, I felt that the Dragon is the perfect comparison to Asuka... majestic, beautiful, firey and downright dangerous. 

On Kaji's title, 'Dragonslayer'... He explains why they call him that in part 3. :D 

The reference to the tale 'Dragonheart' will be expanded on a bit. I'm tossing up whether or not to release it as an Omake or something after I finish this series. Same goes for a lot of the other background stuff. Then again, if I made that an Omake, what would happen the Adventures of PenPen, Mighty Paladin of Justice? :D

This fic will be found in several spots. First off, on my Darkscribes page (http://www.darkscribes.org). It will also be available on Evafics.org (http://www.evafics.org), the archive that I've been working on for months and months, and released to the public last week. Finally, It will be found on FFN, although I'm putting lower priority on that. My fics will be hitting FFN about 2 weeks after they're on Darkscribes and EFO.

First Prereader Draft finished 5th August, 1:22 AM AEST  
Revised 10th August, 12:57 AM AEST  
Revised 11th August, 10:55 PM AEST  
Revised 14th August, 3:00 PM AEST (Release Version)


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